HOUSTON (AFX) -- Lawyers for former Enron CEOs Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling began building their defense Monday using a cast of low-profile former employees who told the court there was never any indication Enron's top officers knowingly defrauded investors.
Enron founder Lay and his prot?g? Skilling are on trial for conspiracy and fraud, charged by federal prosecutors with selling million of dollars in Enron stock while using bogus financial numbers to mask the company's collapsing energy business.
Enron tumbled into bankruptcy in December 2001 amid a raft of accounting scandals -- at the time the biggest corporate failure in U.S. history.
The defense kicked off its case with Joannie Williamson, a former administrative assistant to both Lay and Skilling, who testified that she believed the two executives were 'good people.'
Williamson was followed by employees of Enron's retail energy unit who were involved in selling electricity to California during the height of the 2000-2001 energy crisis.
In the coming days, employees from Enron's broadband unit are also expected to take the stand.
Skilling, who served less than a year as Enron CEO before unexpectedly stepping down in August 2001, could take the stand as early as Wednesday, said his lawyer Daniel Petrocelli.
Skilling was indicted in 2004 on 28 counts, ranging from insider trading to conspiracy, while Lay, his former boss, faces six counts of wire and bank fraud, including charges of lying to employees and shareholders about Enron's true financial condition.
Last week, a federal judge granted a request by the prosecuting team to dismiss three counts against Skilling and one count against Lay in order to speed up the trial.
Prosecution lawyers spent the past nine weeks portraying Skilling as a greedy corporate ruler willing to bend the rules to pump up Enron's share price while unloading company stock at a furious pace in late 2001.
While trying to walk jurors at the Houston federal court house through simplified explanations of complex energy trading tools, the defense team sought to expand its case made during the trial's opening statements that Enron failed 'but did not fail criminally.'
Both Skilling and Lay insist they are innocent of any wrongdoing and that the Houston-based energy trading giant unraveled because creditors and investors lost confidence in it, causing its stock value to plummet.
Since the trial opened in late January, the parade of witnesses has included former financial chief Andrew Fastow, the mastermind behind a complex set of accounting schemes designed to hide the company's ailing finances, and former chief of investor relations Mark Koenig, who pleaded guilty to lying to investors about the company's financial statements.
Williamson, who also worked for Koenig, said Monday she believes her former boss admitted to crimes he did not commit.
The defense team has often said that many former Enron members, including most notably chief accounting officer Richard Causey, pled guilty and joined the prosecutor's team of witnesses out of fear of government prosecution.
Michael Ramsey, the attorney leading Lay's defense, was missing from Monday's court action. Ramsey, briefly hospitalized last week so that doctors could install a stent in his heart, was back at the hospital Monday for further tests. His medical problems are not expected to delay the trial. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
Enron founder Lay and his prot?g? Skilling are on trial for conspiracy and fraud, charged by federal prosecutors with selling million of dollars in Enron stock while using bogus financial numbers to mask the company's collapsing energy business.
Enron tumbled into bankruptcy in December 2001 amid a raft of accounting scandals -- at the time the biggest corporate failure in U.S. history.
The defense kicked off its case with Joannie Williamson, a former administrative assistant to both Lay and Skilling, who testified that she believed the two executives were 'good people.'
Williamson was followed by employees of Enron's retail energy unit who were involved in selling electricity to California during the height of the 2000-2001 energy crisis.
In the coming days, employees from Enron's broadband unit are also expected to take the stand.
Skilling, who served less than a year as Enron CEO before unexpectedly stepping down in August 2001, could take the stand as early as Wednesday, said his lawyer Daniel Petrocelli.
Skilling was indicted in 2004 on 28 counts, ranging from insider trading to conspiracy, while Lay, his former boss, faces six counts of wire and bank fraud, including charges of lying to employees and shareholders about Enron's true financial condition.
Last week, a federal judge granted a request by the prosecuting team to dismiss three counts against Skilling and one count against Lay in order to speed up the trial.
Prosecution lawyers spent the past nine weeks portraying Skilling as a greedy corporate ruler willing to bend the rules to pump up Enron's share price while unloading company stock at a furious pace in late 2001.
While trying to walk jurors at the Houston federal court house through simplified explanations of complex energy trading tools, the defense team sought to expand its case made during the trial's opening statements that Enron failed 'but did not fail criminally.'
Both Skilling and Lay insist they are innocent of any wrongdoing and that the Houston-based energy trading giant unraveled because creditors and investors lost confidence in it, causing its stock value to plummet.
Since the trial opened in late January, the parade of witnesses has included former financial chief Andrew Fastow, the mastermind behind a complex set of accounting schemes designed to hide the company's ailing finances, and former chief of investor relations Mark Koenig, who pleaded guilty to lying to investors about the company's financial statements.
Williamson, who also worked for Koenig, said Monday she believes her former boss admitted to crimes he did not commit.
The defense team has often said that many former Enron members, including most notably chief accounting officer Richard Causey, pled guilty and joined the prosecutor's team of witnesses out of fear of government prosecution.
Michael Ramsey, the attorney leading Lay's defense, was missing from Monday's court action. Ramsey, briefly hospitalized last week so that doctors could install a stent in his heart, was back at the hospital Monday for further tests. His medical problems are not expected to delay the trial. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.