Case against Enron executives now in hands of Houston jurors

HOUSTON (AP) A federal jury Wednesday began deliberating the fate of former Enron Corp. chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, accused of fraud and conspiracy that preceded the collapse of the Houstonbased energy giant five years ago.

Jurors got the blockbuster case after two-and-a-half days of closing arguments from prosecutors and defense lawyers and after more than 14 weeks of testimony. They are deciding 28 criminal counts against Skilling, Enron's former chief executive, and six against Lay, the company founder.

Both face long prison terms if convicted.

The government, through its 25 witnesses, attempted to tie Lay and Skilling to the crash of the nation's seventh-largest company in late 2001 after revelations of hundreds of millions of dollars of debt hidden by

shady accounting schemes and profits inflated by accounting tricks orchestrated by top executives.

Skilling, who quit Enron four months before the company filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2001, and Lay each spent more than a week on the witness stand proclaiming their innocence. They were among the 29 witnesses called by the defense.