After a slumbering close to Week One of the criminal trial of former key Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, the prosecution will almost certainly attempt to pick up the pace of the trial this week.
The prosecution will probably complete direct examination this morning of its first witness, former Enron investor relations chief Mark Koenig. Inasmuch as cross-examination of Koenig will likely take at least as long as direct (over two days), the prosecution’s second witness — former Enron Broadband co-CEO Ken Rice — will probably not take the stand until Wednesday afternoon, at the earliest.
If you have been following the Enron cases, then you will remember Rice. He was on the witness stand when the prosecution’s case began unraveling in the Enron Broadband trial last year. As noted at the time here, Rice testified falsely on direct examination during the Broadband trial about what he had seen at an analyst conference. After the Broadband defense team impeached Rice with his false testimony, the prosecution attempted to rehabilitate Rice’s false testimony by putting former Enron video consultant Beth Stier on the stand, a move that backfired when Stier testified to the prosecution’s intimidation tactics. Thus, in a case that looked like a layup for the prosecution at the outset, Rice and Stier’s testimony began a downward spiral in the prosecution’s case that ultimately resulted in a disastrous mix of acquittals and no verdicts on the charges in the Broadband case.
By the way, a little reported fact about Rice is that he entered into his plea deal with the Enron Task Force after the Task Force had discovered that he sold a substantial amount of Enron stock under rather suspicious circumstances. Shortly before Skilling announced his resignation as Enron CEO in August, 2001, Rice met with Skilling. After that meeting and before Skilling’s resignation announcement, Rice unloaded a boatload of his Enron stock. Thus, regardless of what other crimes that Rice contends on the stand that he and others committed at Enron, it’s pretty clear that he was guilty of illegal insider trading.