Lay & Skilling GUILTY!!

whoohooo!

 

As Lay's verdict was read, his daughter Elizabeth Vittore, who has been one of his attorneys during the case, began to sob uncontrollably. His wife, Linda, clutching his hand, wiped tears away silently. All of his children sat in the front row with other members of the family. One of his sons put his face in his hands and wept.

Lay clutched his wife's hand and looked straight ahead.

- LINK

Justice must be served. This is such a sad situation for everyone, all of the families, that have been affected by the collapse of Enron, including the families of those that must serve time in jail.

 

I prefer that for a non-violent criminal we use fines and community service rather than taxpayers having to spend tens of thousands of dollars every year to keep a non-violent criminal in a minimum security prison.

I was really surprised that they did not go for a plea bargain. I don't know how they thought they would find a jury that would not convict them.

 

There is not a jail sentence long enough for these crooks to serve. As mentioned above, these men did infinitely more harm than any bank robber could possibly do. They destroyed hundreds of families savings and still their spouses and children will live in luxury. They should take away everything these people have and put them on the streets destitute!

 

They interviewed a man on "To the Point" who had already retired before Enron collapsed and lost $1.2 million dollars.

I feel very, very sorry for this man. I can't imagine what it feels like to lose that much money. But he also violated common sense by having all his money invested in one company, regardless of how sound, especially when he is retired.

Skilling and Lay are guilty. But a lot people were their own worst enemy, though, by the way they banked everything or almost everything on Enron stock.

 

KenH you don't get it....the small investor will
always get the shaft...yeah even you KenH..you may think you are immune (you're not) they will find a way to get your money those who have the inside know...those people played by the rules nd did not salivate over options and stocks like those who think they can out smart and make a killing. Ken Lay himself lied to them...they trusted him...they only wanted real riches...family, friends, and pursuit of happiness ...not to make a killing in the market so they could brag how much money the have.

KenH your little.."look at me" I have outsmarted the Lays of world...may be good for you now..but I gurantee as a small investor they will get your money ...maybe not today ..but someday and you think your protected by rules and laws ..well guess what ..amazing how things change when money and greed is involved.

One day KenH you will know how these people really feel and perhaps you will lose your pride in money.

 

There's no law aganist being foolish with your money Ken but there is against defrauding people. I think it should be enforced way more than it is but as long as the perps have the money to buy judges, congressmen and senators the fraud will go on.

 

Ken Lay was a good friend of the Bush family. Maybe he will get a pardon. I agree with Ken. (KenH that is) Lots of people lose their shirts in the stock market. The problem with Enron is that the company made it very enticing to own only Enron stock by matching what the employee invested in. So there was greed on the part of alot of the little guys. But there was insider trading that the little guys in the company couldnt be part of. In August of 2000, Enron's stock price hit its highest value of $90. It was at this point in time that Enron's executives, who possessed the inside information of the hidden losses, began to sell their stock. At the same time, the general public and Enron's investors were told to buy the stock, as the sky was the limit. Enron's executives told the investors that the stock would continue to climb until it reached possibly into the $130 to $140 range, while secretly unloading their shares as they knew the opposite to be true.

 

Praise God for that verdict. As far as I am concerned, that is terrorism on the American people, gutting the retirement of thousands while those pigs indulge themselves. If I had my way, they would serve their sentences at GITMO with the other terrorists.

 

I am thrilled with the verdict! Lay and Schilling are guilty and deserve a long jail sentence.

How do these two men have the gall to try and rationalize their greed and deception? I understand that Lay claims to be a Christian... shouldn't he at least show some remorse for the wrong he has done?

 

I agree, poncho. But some of the people who lost a bunch of money when Enron collapsed contributed to their loss by unwise investment practices. Always remember the three rules of investing:

1) Diversify.
2) Diversify.
3) Diversify.

Plus an investor should always remember that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

 

Ken, I agree with you. The military and federal workers now have a 401 type retirement called thrift saving plan which includes five funds, a government treasury fund, around 5%, a bond fund, a fund that follows the S and P 500, a small caps fund and an international fund. Money spread out over these funds, the weight based on your retirement date gives the best return for the least risk.

However, this to me does not excuse the outrageous conduct of these types of people. Jail is too easy a punishment for the ruin they brought to thousands.

 

SN, there are also mutual funds that have a target date where the closer the target date, say 2025, comes the more the fund moves out of stocks into safer investments such as money market accounts. It requires no work on the part of the investor. The fund takes care of diversification and rebalancing.

 

Mutual funds are a wonderful financial vehicle. Also, the idea of becoming more conservative as you get closer to retirement is great. We have people at work who try to time the peaks (like we just had) and go to the safe fund, then predict the bottom, and go back to stocks. From what I have seen, it almost always backfires. Patience and time reward with a decent return.

 

I agree, poncho. But some of the people who lost a bunch of money when Enron collapsed contributed to their loss by unwise investment practices. Always remember the three rules of investing:

1) Diversify.
2) Diversify.
3) Diversify.

Plus an investor should always remember that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. </font>[/QUOTE]Very true Ken. However most folks it would seem live under the false impression that business and government can be trusted so they're more willing to take their word on things like investments and such.

This isn't what the founders were telling us 200 plus years ago but who listens to them anymore?