Andersen not prepared to talk

WASHINGTON -- Arthur Andersen LLP abruptly broke off talks Thursday with the Justice Department on settling criminal obstruction charges related to the destruction of documents in the financial collapse of Enron Corp. \nThe lawyer for the Andersen accounting firm notified government lawyers that the company was not in position to make a decision on any criminal settlement, a Justice official said. \n"We are continuing to prepare for trial," Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra said. The trial date is May 6. \nThe sudden collapse of secret negotiations occurred after the outlines of a deal had been struck, and the sides had expected to announce a settlement this week. \nIn recent days, Andersen's lawyers could not agree with government lawyers on specific language admitting guilt in illegally destroying Enron documents, a person familiar with the negotiations said, speaking on condition of anonymity. \nAndersen also had balked at the length of time the Justice Department had proposed for possible prosecution of the accounting firm, arguing that three years was too long, this person said. \nThursday's end to talks came after weeks of negotiations between the Justice Department and Andersen in the wake of the firm's criminal indictment, which was unsealed March 14. Talks intensified after the government accepted a plea agreement from David B. Duncan, the former senior Andersen auditor on the Enron account.