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Whistle-Blower Shifts Focus of Enron Trial
Former Enron Corp. accountant Sherron Watkins, here with attorney Philip Hilder, testified Wednesday that she warned then-Chairman Kenneth L. Lay of the firm's fraudulent partnerships and had said the firm was "crooked."
(By Carlos Javier Sanchez -- Bloomberg News)
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Under cross-examination Tuesday afternoon, Nelson said, "We're not talking about stamps and stationery, this is millions and millions of dollars. . . . Mr. Lay was paid a lot of money to know the inner workings of the company."
George "Mac" Secrest, a lawyer for Lay, pointed out that Nelson's recollection about the stock price and other issues was incorrect. The lawyer insisted that Lay sold $70 million in Enron stock during that period to cover bank loans -- and that he had not violated the law.
"He violated my trust, that's all I know," the blunt witness, who earned $50,000 a year during Enron's heyday, shot back.
Lay also took indirect fire Tuesday from Vincent J. Kaminski, a mathematical wizard and former Enron analyst who said he repeatedly warned executives about risky business partnerships in the years before the company collapsed.
Kaminski testified that he finally worked up his courage to speak out at an Oct. 22, 2001, internal meeting of about 100 of Enron's top officials where Lay presided. "Well, I felt, you know, the company was threatened and I felt a duty to speak up," Kaminski said. "I felt Enron should come clean."
The following day, Lay said in a meeting with all of Enron's workers that the company's top executives were "unified" in their approach, one of the statements prosecutors contend was a lie designed to ward off public scrutiny.
"Did you feel you came out of that room unified, Mr. Kaminski?" prosecutor Sean M. Berkowitz asked.
"No, unless I was voted off this island," Kaminski replied.
