Those hurt by Enron can speak at sentencing
HOUSTON, TEXAS - Former Enron employee Diana Peters knows there won't be any suspense when Andrew Fastow, a key figure in the former energy giant's collapse, is sentenced, because he's already agreed to a 10-year prison term.
But she is grateful those affected by Enron's downfall will have a chance to face the New Jersey native before he goes to prison and tell him how his actions affected their lives, since the federal judge in the case has invited them to speak their minds.
Peters won't be able to attend Fastow's sentencing hearing because she can't take time off from work. But she has submitted a letter to the court de tailing how Enron's collapse caused her financial hardship.
She has been forced to work two jobs, including cleaning office buildings on weekends; she also had to swallow her pride and ask her son to move back home so he could help his parents pay their bills.
"If (Fastow) can spend 100 years in jail, that would be fine with me," Peters said. "If he spends 10 years in jail, he still has a life. I will never get back what has been taken. I will never be able to retire."
Peters, 57, said she lost about $75,000 in her 401(k) retirement plan at Enron, where she worked 10 years as a computer technician, when the company's stock became worthless.
Under a 2-year-old federal law that enhances the rights of victims of federal crimes, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt is allowing Enron's victims to speak about how the company's financial implosion hurt them.
Fastow, whose complex schemes as chief financial officer helped lead to the company's downfall, agreed to serve the maxi mum 10-year term for his admitted crimes when he pleaded guilty in 2004.
His cooperation and testimony helped prosecutors secure the convictions of Enron founder Kenneth Lay and the former chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling.
"I really think you will hear some gut-wrenching stories from people who are going to say that this ruined their lives, their savings, their retirement," said Steve Cron, a criminal defense attorney in Santa Monica, California.
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