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Enron narrows CEO search
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January 26, 2002: 7:18 p.m. ET
Cooper the front runner as field down to two; Baxter suicide note mentions Enron.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Enron edged closer Saturday to naming a new chief executive to replace embattled former CEO Kenneth Lay, by narrowing the list of candidates to two, a source familiar with the search told CNN.
The company's board of directors made its choices in a meeting Saturday, the source said. The front runner, the source said, is Stephen Cooper, a corporate turnaround specialist with the New York-based consulting firm Zolfo Cooper. The other candidate is a male executive, but no other details about him were available.
The source said an announcement could be made within three or four days, but another source said it could come as early as this weekend.
Lay announced his resignation Wednesday night, saying he could no longer fully focus on the company amid the various investigations followings its bankruptcy filing in December.
In other developments in the Enron saga:
A suicide note found at the scene of the death of former Enron vice chairman John Clifford Baxter mentioned the embattled energy trader, according to a published report.
Sources familiar with Baxter's death said Enron was mentioned in the suicide note, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday. The full contents of the note have not been released by police.
Click here for more on Enron's collapse
Baxter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the Harris County Medical Examiner's office said Saturday. Investigator Pam Johnson told CNN there were no signs of foul play connected to Baxter's death. The determination was made based on a Friday night autopsy and evidence gathered at the scene of Baxter's death.
Congressional investigators had wanted to speak to Baxter, 43, regarding his involvement in the Enron saga, a Congressional source with knowledge of the situation told CNN. Details
Congress' top investigator said on Friday he will decide late next week whether to take the Bush administration to court -- in a potentially historic legal fight -- for withholding details about how it developed its controversial energy policy.
Vice President Dick Cheney headed up the White House task force that crafted the energy policy after meeting with Enron officials. Details
The White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday asked for a review of more than 100 federal contracts with bankrupt energy giant Enron and its accounting firm, Andersen LLP, to determine if their performance is up to the standards required to do government business in the future.
Andersen and Enron have contracts with government agencies totaling about $60 million. Details
U.S. lawmakers on Friday offered their first impressions after a day of hearings into the collapse of energy trader Enron Corp. and the practices of its auditor, Arthur Andersen. The results were not favorable.
Investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee said criminal charges could result from Andersen's effort to shred documents and erase computer files related to its audit of Enron.
A number of Andersen representatives testified Thursday. David B. Duncan, the lead Enron auditor since fired by Andersen, declined to testify, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The other Andersen representatives told lawmakers that document shredding was Duncan's idea, but lawmakers were skeptical of that claim. Details. 
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