Yesterday, it was Bernard J Ebbers who started his 25-year long jail sentence for his role in the WorldCom fraud at 65, an age that literally means he will most certainly die behind bars.
Today, the former CFO of Enron Andrew S. Fastow, whose fraudulent acts made him a symbol of corporate corruption, got away with just 6 years behind bars for his role in the spectacular collapse of Enron. Fastow will spend another 2 years in home supervision.
This is remarkable because Fastow entered into a plea-cooperation bargain with the government for 10 years in prison.
According to NYT:
Fastow also benefited from a ruling last year by the United States Supreme Court that made federal sentencing guidelines advisory rather than binding, paving the way for Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of Federal District Court to reduce the sentence.
Fastow incidentally is the highest level Enron exec to be sentenced for the debacle of Enron. Former CEO Jeffrey K. Skilling is scheduled for October 23. Former Enron chairman Ken Lay died in July before getting a sentence.
At least, Fastow got away with a sentence below what he expected. I can imagine what Ebbers would be thinking now.
News and Image: New York Times
