Prosecutors oppose new trial for Skilling

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Source: Houston Chronicle

Prosecutors asked a federal appellate court Tuesday to keep former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling behind bars for two more decades without retrying any part of the case.

The Justice Department filed a 218-page reply to the appeal of Skilling, who is serving a 24-year prison sentence in Minnesota on 19 convictions of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors at Enron.

"The jury had ample evidence to hold Skilling responsible for the pervasive fraudulent conduct at Enron," the government argued. "The record demonstrates, moreover, that Skilling had a fair trial before an impartial jury and that he received a reasonable sentence for his multiple crimes. This court should affirm his conviction and sentence."

A Houston jury convicted Skilling after a four-week trial in 2006. He appealed his conviction to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in September, arguing that prosecutors sought to criminalize normal business practices and overreached in prosecutions relating to the fall of Enron.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5299704.html