Fastow to be sentenced
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: We haven’t talked about Enron in a while, but today, we’ll find out the prison term for one of its key players. Andrew Fastow was the finance chief. He confessed to his crimes, then became a star witness against his former bosses, Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Marketplace’s Amy Scott reports.
AMY SCOTT: When Andy Fastow pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, he agreed to serve a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
His attorneys are now trying to whittle that down. They say Fastow is a changed man. That he’s helped Hurricane Katrina victims, and mowed the lawn at his synagogue.
White-collar criminal defense attorney Jeremy Frey says the judge could lighten Fastow’s sentence but he wouldn’t hold his breath.
JEREMY FREY: If I were Mr. Fastow, I would not be anticipating a sentence less than 120 months. That is the agreement that he reached with the government. It’s gonna be pretty unlikely for a judge to leave that track and to impose something less.
Especially Frey says, because of Fastow’s role in Enron’s $60 billion collapse.
He not only admitted to orchestrating the company’s book-cooking, but to profiting from the fraud…to the tune of about $45 million.
Frey says when a judge is looking at that kind of crime cooperation with the government only goes so far.
In New York, I’m Amy Scott for Marketplace.
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