Status: Undetermined (I refuse to give him the benefit of the doubt)
Ken Lay was reported dead on Wednesday. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death to be severe coronary disease. But almost as soon as word of his death hit the internet, the conspiracy theories started. Scott Adams summed up what many were thinking in his
Dilbert Blog:
Does it seem suspicious to you that ex-Enron CEO Ken Lay died right before they could put his guilty ass behind bars? I wonder how many doctors you need to bribe to fake your own death. Is one enough? Or is there some special double-checking that the police do if the guy is heading for prison? I’m sure there’s a body, but I wonder if it’s his. I have a bad feeling that some pizza delivery guy’s last words to his coworkers were “Hey, I have a delivery to that Enron guy’s house! Wish me luck!”
Reality Rule 16.1 from
Hippo Eats Dwarf seems appropriate here:
For some, death is merely a career move.
The timing of Lay's death is what makes it so suspicious. It's not just that he died before serving any time. He died before the appeals process was completed and before being sentenced. Therefore, his convictions could be erased, severely complicating efforts to seize his assets. As the
New York Times reports:
Mr. Lay's death effectively voids the guilty verdict against him, temporarily thwarting the federal government's efforts to seize his remaining real estate and financial assets, legal experts say. "The death of Mr. Lay in all likelihood will render the government's hard-fought victory null," said Christopher Bebel, a former federal prosecutor based here who specializes in securities fraud...
Any life insurance policies bought by Mr. Lay may also be shielded from federal seizure efforts since state laws normally cover such payments. While jurors found Mr. Lay guilty, his death may also complicate any efforts to go after life insurance proceeds, even if the original policies were acquired with ill-gotten gains.
In other words, Lay picked the perfect time to die. Of course, this doesn't mean he faked his death. It just makes his death seem awfully convenient for him (if he's still alive) and his family. (There's also a theory that
he was murdered... or perhaps he could have committed suicide by using drugs to induce heart failure. I believe there are drugs capable of doing this.)
Lay isn't the first multi-millionaire to be suspected of faking his death. In 1932 billionaire Swedish businessman (and mega-swindler)
Ivar Kreuger apparently committed suicide by shooting himself. But a rumor soon spread that he had actually faked his death and fled to Indonesia. Supposedly Kreuger's tobacconist later received from Sumatra a large order for custom-made Havana cigars. The tobacconist said that Kreuger was the only person who would have known how to place that order.
There's also the case of Michael de Guzman, geologist for
Bre-X, and perpetrator of one of the greatest mining frauds in history. In March 1997 de Guzman supposedly committed suicide by jumping from a helicopter into the Indonesian jungle. But his corpse could never be positively identified, and last year one of his widows claimed that he had
recently sent her money. So he might very well still be alive. Perhaps he's hiding out somewhere in an Indonesian resort with Ken Lay.
Oh, and this photo of Ken Lay's tombstone that's doing the rounds is obviously fake (1964-2006??? That would have made him 42). Last year the same picture was used to represent
Johnnie Cochran's tombstone.
Comments
Ever seen Wag The Dog? Remember what happened to Dustin Hoffman's character, Stanley Motss? Any chance Kenny Boy might have tried to barter information about the administration for a lighter sentence?
For the record, I'm only about half-serious about this. Things like this DO happen; I'm just not sure it happened in THIS case.
http://www.jjchandler.com/tombstone/
Make your own tombstone - fun for all!
Wally
1. Kennie Boy (as his pal George W. Bush calls him) faked his death; and
2. His wife offed him so she wouldn't lose all the money he stole.
In any case, I hope there will be a thorough investigation, but given the way corporate criminals are coddled in this country, there probably won't be.
The Bushes have already proven that large illegalities are of no concern to them; certainly they would have no problem with a small illegality on behalf of and old friend and HUGE political contributor.
This may have all been pre-planned by Rove & Cheney, and approved by the boy President.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5173228.stm
But it is all very mysterious - I'd have thought it anyone was going to have a heart attack it'd be at a moment of great stress, like in court, or when he was arrested. And after all that embezzling, that man was so rich enough to arrange to 'disappear'. And it's been done before - look at John Stonehouse
It seems to me paying a couple million to a doctor and forensic lab to produce a phony body here and a couple million to make the police look the other way there is very much plausible. Unfortunately, nobody can prove any of this. What a piece of trash Lay is.
1. Death cert. had time stamp dated the day before his death.
2. Coroner brought in from Mesa county.
3. Entered hospital as inpatient where one person works counter at night.
4. Collin Powell came to hospital next morning with stomach pains.
5. Sheriff is 26 years in office and was at fat farm that week.(Alcohol rehab.)
6. Lay's conviction overturned He Keeps his money.
As I recall, Lay's attorney never made such a statement - an automatic red flag so far as him being susceptible to a heart attack.
Lay likely had excellent health care, hence no surprises regarding unknown heart issues.
Naturally anyone is under stress when they are on the receiving end in court. But why should Lay have been under any more stress than any other person who stole billions from millions of people? Hint: ole Bernie seems to be handling his ordeal okay.
The list of questionable events surrounding Lay's death goes on and on.
Suffice it to say I think Lay did not die anywhere the week of his alleged death.
And I question whether he has died since then.
My guess is that he's enjoying the good life, probably not far from his own bedroom every night. In other words, I don't think he ever left the house.
If someone thoroughly monitored the household and his wife's activities, and particularly the money trail, I think this would sort itself out quickly.