Ex-Enron chief pleads guilty

HOUSTON -- Andrew Fastow, the chief architect of the shady, off-the-books deals that brought down Enron, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of conspiracy in a deal that could take prosecutors to the top of the corporate ladder at the scandal-ridden company.\nThe plea by the former Enron finance chief called for a 10-year sentence and for him to help prosecutors who have targeted -- but not charged the executives who once occupied the most opulent offices on the company's top floor: former Chairman, Kenneth Lay, and former CEO, Jeffrey Skilling.\nFastow's wife, Lea, was also set to plead guilty later Wednesday to a tax charge related to Enron's ill-gotten gains. Lea Fastow, 42, was Enron's former assistant treasurer.\nThe Fastow plea deals had stalled last week after a judge refused to guarantee Lea Fastow a five-month prison sentence, as agreed to with prosecutors.\nHer attorney said the couple insisted on the five-month sentence to ensure their two young sons have at least one parent at home. U.S. District Judge David Hittner demanded he retain the right to alter Lea Fastow's term, and it was not immediately known what sentence he would order.\nAndrew Fastow, 42, is the highest-ranking Enron executive charged in the 2001 collapse of the Houston-based energy company. Without a plea, he would have gone to trial on 98 counts of fraud, money laundering, insider trading and other charges.\nProsecutors say Fastow masterminded a sea of partnerships and tangled financing deals that hid Enron debt and inflated company profits while funneling millions of dollars to him, his family and selected friends. The partnerships had names like LJM (the first initials of Fastow's wife and two sons) and Chewco (after the "Star Wars" character Chewbacca).\nSome experts believe the plea could break open the case against Lay and Skilling.\n"Unquestionably, this is the breakthrough that the government has been pursuing," said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor and an expert in white-collar crime. "There is nobody besides Fastow who can make this case for the government and that's why they have been pursuing him for so long and so aggressively."\nEnron declared bankruptcy in December 2001 amid mass layoffs, leaving investors and retirees stuck with worthless stock. In the following months, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Adelphia Communications and others suffered a similar fate as investigators uncovered a raft of accounting failures across corporate America.\nEnron also became a source of ammunition for Democrats because of President Bush's close ties to Lay, a major campaign backer.\nLay and Skilling have steadfastly maintained their innocence. Lay's attorney, Michael Ramsey, said Wednesday Lay has no worries if Fastow tells the truth.