In March 2001, just a few months before Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling
resigned, an employee e-mailed him a joke about a policeman pulling
over a speeding driver, whose wife subsequently rats him out to the cop
for other offenses, including being drunk.
Skilling and Enron chairman Ken Lay, whose federal trial on multiple
felony fraud charges starts Monday, might not see the irony that, like
the driver’s wife, their e-mails will soon be testifying against them,
both in court and in public opinion.
Enron’s inbox first hit the internet in March 2003 when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
made public more than 1.5 million e-mails from 176 Enron employees as
part of its investigation of the company’s manipulation of California
energy markets in 2000.
Journalists quickly scoured the e-mail for embarrassing moments and
incriminating missives. Among the finds: Lay family members’ thoughts
about finding the perfect wedding photographer (someone who did one of
the Kennedy’s weddings), Enron executives angling for ambassadorships
and positions in the Bush administration, instructions from Tom DeLay’s
staff to Lay and Skilling on how to handle
$100,000 contributions and messages from Lay’s secretary bemoaning the
fact that she could not get tech support to fix Lay’s phone, which
would disconnect if answered before the third ring.
All this among countless jokes about Texas, sex, nuns, women, Latinos and priests. Other tasteful tidbits include an offensive booty-call contract and a fashion critique of government lawyers investigating Enron.
Ryan Singel