Enron

Convicted former Chairman of Enron Kenneth Lay has died of an apparent heart attack.

Damn. Damn, damn, damn. I really wanted to see him go to jail.

OK, I’m a callous bastard, and I should think of his family – they’ve lost a loved one. And I feel bad for them. I do. They have my honest sympathy for their loss. The thing is, they’ll eventually get through their grieving process, recover, and move on, like any other family does when it loses someone. Unlike any other family, Lay’s heirs will move on in a level of comfort that is owed in part to the suffering of ex-Enron shareholders and employees whom the late Mr. Lay is responsible for fucking over.

All the former Enron foot soldiers who did nothing wrong have to move on, too: without their jobs, without the retirement safety nets they had earned, without vacation homes in Snowmass. Now, they may very well also have to do without the comfort of Kenny Boy paying for what he did:

…Lay’s death likely means his conviction will be vacated and it will be as if he were never charged… Lay had not been sentenced and the appeal process had barely started. [According to legal specialists,] that means a final judgment has not been issued and the conviction will be set aside… what is not clear, however, is if the government’s efforts to seize money and assets from Lay can continue… since it is seen as a measure meant to punish the defendant… the government could file a motion for forfeiture as a civil proceeding, however, meaning it would be an attempt to seize assets from Lay’s estate.

Bad enough that the victims are denied the comfort of seeing Lay go to prison, but their civil claim may end with their being stiffed by a stiff. It’s the kind of circumstance that one suspects will cause an uptick in atheism.

Jeff Skilling better stay healthy. I hope they have him on an exercise regimen, with a square diet and weekly physicals. Long live Jeff Skilling.