Skilling's Last Stand

At inopportune times, Skilling's demons have returned to the surface.

Two months after his indictment, New York City police took him to the hospital after passersby reported a disturbed person on the street. Prosecutors later wrote in court papers that Skilling was intoxicated and had confronted bar patrons, searching for a recording device in a woman's blouse and accusing others of tailing him on behalf of the FBI. After the incident, Skilling sought treatment for his drinking.

Last month, several weeks after his conviction, Dallas police took him into custody on a misdemeanor public intoxication charge after finding him on the street in the early morning in a state they described as incapacitated, according to a police report. Skilling resolved the charge by paying a $385 fine.

At the time, his defense lawyer, Daniel M. Petrocelli, implored the media to consider Skilling's delicate predicament.

"Jeff is doing his best to cope with a nearly impossible situation," Petrocelli wrote in an e-mail to reporters.

Herbert J. Hoelter, a prison consultant who has advised domestic entrepreneur Martha Stewart and Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John J. Rigas, said the pressures on former executives facing prison are weighty, in both practical and psychological terms.

Executives who once exerted control over thousands of employees now look at the prospect of being told when to eat, when to report to work, when to go to sleep and how much money they can spend at the prison commissary. They must make their peace with their families and face such questions as "will I see my son graduate from high school or college?" Hoelter said.

In that context, Hoelter said, Skilling's recent brush with the law makes more sense. "It's certainly in my book very understandable. If I was facing this, who knows what relief you seek?"