Lay And Skilling Convicted

Chicago Tribune The government crackdown on corporate crime scored a major victory today with the conviction of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling on criminal charges stemming from their leading role in the Enron Corp. scandal. The eight-woman, four-man jury found Lay guilty of all six fraud and conspiracy counts against him. They convicted Skilling of 19 counts, while acquitting him on the remaining nine. Lay also was convicted of bank fraud and making false statements in a separate trial. The 64-year-old Lay and 52-year-old Skilling face lengthy prison terms, likely exceeding a decade, after a federal jury in Houston rejected their testimony from the witness stand. Sentencing is set for Sept. 11.