HOUSTON (CNN) - A federal judge Thursday said he will accept a guilty plea from the wife of a former top Enron executive that would mean prison time for her and may also lead to a stiff sentence for her husband, ex-Enron CFO Andrew Fastow.
Mike DeGeurin, Lea Fastow's attorney, said he and his client had not decided whether to accept the plea agreement as modified by the judge, which would send Mrs. Fastow to prison for five months. They were to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the plea agreement.
At issue is the judge's demand for a two-month pre-sentencing investigation before Lea Fastow can begin her sentence for tax evasion. That demand was the main hurdle throughout the discussions about the agreement.
Lea Fastow's plea agreement is a coordinated effort with her husband, Andrew Fastow, Enron's former chief financial officer, that could allow one of them to remain at home with their two children while the other is serving prison time, DeGeurin.
| 
| |
|
|
|
|
|
 CNNfn's Jen Rogers reports on federal judge's approval of proposed plea deal for Lea Fastow.
|
Play video
(Real or Windows Media)
|
|
|
|
|
|
"If Andy, her husband, has to go to jail sometime, we do not want the children to be without parents," DeGeurin said.
The Fastows are considered key players in the two-year-old government probe of the bankrupt energy trading company because of their familiarity with the complex financial transactions that ultimately led to the company's downfall.
The proposed deal would lead to "a global resolution of two cases that are important to government," Leslie Caldwell, head of the Justice Department's Enron task force, told the court Thursday, Reuters reported.
Enron's implosion in December 2001 started a string of corporate scandals that ultimately led Congress to pass new laws aimed at stricter oversight of corporate accounting.
The plea deals with the Fastows are also linked to possible charges against former Chief Accounting Officer Richard Causey, sources close to the case said.
Andrew Fastow is accused of helping mastermind financial schemes that led to the energy company's bankruptcy just over two years ago. He is facing 98 counts, including charges of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy related to Enron's collapse.
He has pleaded not guilty and a trial is scheduled for April 20.
Andrew Fastow has been negotiating a plea bargain to cooperate with authorities, pay more than $20 million to settle civil charges and go to prison for as long as 10 years, people familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.
| Related Documents (PDF)
|
|
|
|
|
|
If he reaches a plea agreement, he could implicate his bosses, former Enron CEOs Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay, who are still under investigation but have not been charged.
Lea Fastow is charged with six counts -- including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and filing false tax returns -- for collaborating with her husband in the alleged scheme years after she left the company.
Both are now free on bond.
Judge Hittner had rejected Lea Fastow's plea deal Wednesday because it did not allow him to lengthen the sentence.
But he agreed to review his decision Thursday after prosecutors and defense lawyers took the unusual step of requesting that he reconsider.
Gordon Andrew, a spokesman for the Fastows, had no comment.
-- CNNfn's Gene Bloch and CNN's Terry Frieden, as well as Reuters, contributed to this report
|
