Skilling gets 24 years

Houston, Texas

Former Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling, who gained infamy as the man who orchestrated the largest corporate fraud in history, was sentenced to more than 24 years in jail Monday.

Skilling stood stoically, his hands clasped before him, as presiding Judge Sim Lake handed down his sentence. His wife Rebecca, however, sobbed quietly in her seat as victims of Enron's collapse watched the proceedings stone-faced.

Judge Lake ordered Skilling to remain on house arrest until the Bureau of Prisons determined his date of incarceration. He denied the government's motion for Skilling to be taken into custody immediately.

In addition, Judge Lake denied defense attorney Daniel Petrocelli's request to lower the sentence by 10 months in order to allow Skilling to serve his sentence at a lower security- level penitentiary.

Instead Lake recommended that Skilling served his sentence at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in Butner, N.C.

Legal experts had estimated that Skilling could receive between 20 and 30 years behind bars. Skilling was convicted in May of 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors.
Source: © UPI News