ENRON SCANDAL Will Lay ever be indicted?

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling posted a $5 million bond.
HOUSTON (AP) -- Now that former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling has been indicted, the fate of his former boss -- Enron founder Kenneth Lay -- is perhaps the biggest question looming in the escalating federal investigation into wrongdoing at the disgraced company.
Former employees said Thursday they'd like to see prosecutors bring charges against Lay, too, although some see Skilling as the biggest culprit. But both legal experts and those who worked for Lay agreed it was unlikely Skilling would toss aside his innocent plea, cooperate with prosecutors and help them pursue a case against Lay. "This does not in any way signal the inevitable indictment of Ken Lay," said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor and an expert in white-collar crime.
The indictment against Skilling doesn't show clear-cut crimes, and its "very broad and sweeping nature" suggests the charges are becoming "more diffused rather than more focused," he said.
By contrast, the previous indictment of former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow alleged fraud in several particular transactions and prompted a guilty plea last month and 10-year sentence in exchange for his cooperation. Skilling pleaded innocent Thursday to 35 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and others more than two years after walking away from the company before it toppled under the weight of scandal. He is free on $5 million bond -- all of which he posted with a cashier's check.
"He's not going to plead [guilty]. That's just how arrogant he is," said Carol Elkin, one of the more than 4,500 Enron workers who lost their jobs and retirement funds in the company's collapse.