Enron Founder Dies Before Sentencing

Kenneth L. Lay, the former chairman and chief executive of Enron who was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the giant energy company's collapse, died at his home in Aspen, Colorado. He was 64. The fraud is considered to be the greatest that happened in recent times.

A spokeswoman for the Lay family, Kelly L. Kimberly, confirmed reports of Mr. Lay's death but declined to discuss specifics. In a prepared statement, Ms. Kimberly said: "Ken Lay passed away early this morning in Aspen. The Lays have a very large family with whom they need to communicate. And out of respect for the family, we will release further details at a later time."
Mr. Lay was convicted in May on six counts of fraud and conspiracy and four counts of bank fraud, and was free on a $5 million bond while awaiting his sentencing, which was scheduled for this fall.
Each count carried a maximum sentence of 5 to 10 years, so he faced the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that an emergency crew was dispatched to Mr. Lay's home at 1:41 a.m.; he was transported to the Aspen Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m.
The financial crimes that Mr. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling, who succeeded Mr. Lay as chief executive and presided over Enron during its implosion, were convicted of committing came to symbolize the corporate excess and greed of the 1990's. While not as large in dollar terms as the fraud at Worldcom, a telecommunications giant driven to bankruptcy by an accounting scandal in 2002, the crimes of Enron's executives resonated the most in the public mind, and the company's name became synonymous with corporate malfeasance.
Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling were found by the jury to have lied to investors, employees and regulators so they could disguise the financial weaknesses of their energy empire.
For his part, Mr. Lay always maintained his innocence. On the day of his conviction, he denied having ever done anything improper during his tenure at Enron.
"We believe that God in fact is in control, and indeed he does work all things for good for those who love the Lord," he said outside the courthouse in Houston after the verdict.
Mr. Lay, who was put on trial twice for crimes connected to his tenure at Enron and was convicted both times, insisted that the only fraud at Enron was committed by underlings who stole millions of dollars in secret deals. Unlike Mr. Skilling, he was not charged with insider trading. Mr. Lay has maintained that Andrew S. Fastow, the company's former chief financial officer, bore most of the responsibility for what went wrong at the company.
Mr. Fastow pleaded guilty to conspiracy and agreed to serve 10 years in prison, and other charges against him were dropped, in exchange for his cooperation with prosecutors and testimony in the trials of Mr. Skilling and Mr. Lay.
For his part, Mr. Skilling still faces the possibility of life in prison. He was convicted of 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy and 1 count of insider trading, but acquitted on 9 other counts of insider trading.
Mr. Lay, known for his close ties to President Bush, was Enron's founder and public face. During the 56-day trial that ended in May, he testified on his own behalf, occasionally losing his temper on the stand as he sparred with prosecutors, despite a reputation for coolness under pressure.
He insisted that Enron's collapse was due to a "conspiracy" waged by short sellers, a handful of rogue executives whose activities were unknown to him, and the news media.
As a child growing up in Missouri, Mr. Lay's modest beginnings were a far cry from the extravagance that would define his later years. His luxurious lifestyle became a point of contention in his trial as prosecutors showed the jury examples of his lavish spending.
He was one of three children of a struggling preacher and businessman, and often took odd jobs like baling hay and delivering newspapers to help his family get by. The Lay family was often in and out of financial distress. Omer Lay, Kenneth Lay's father, was a Baptist minister who also tried his hand at a number of other occupations, including running a general store and selling stoves door to door.
At the trial, Mr. Lay defended himself as prosecutors tried to embarrass him by pointing out that he spent $200,000 on a cruise with his wife months before the company collapsed. "We had realized the American dream, and were living a very expensive lifestyle," Mr. Lay said, adding it was "the type of lifestyle where it is difficult to turn off the spigot."