Kenneth Lay Dead at 64; Former Enron Workers Shocked, Disappointed

By Linda Orlando

Kenneth Lay, the former chairman and founder of Enron Corp., was admitted to the Aspen Valley Hospital Wednesday due to a massive coronary, and he died shortly thereafter with his wife by his side. The Lays were in Aspen staying at their vacation home. Doctors said that his heart simply "gave out," and his death was unexpected. Lay, 64, was convicted May 25 of defrauding investors and employees by repeatedly lying about his company’s financial security. He was also convicted of bank fraud and making false statements to banks.

The pastor of Lay’s church in Houston, who spoke with Lay last week, said that Lay "was at peace," despite knowing that he would be sentenced in October to a punishment that could have kept him in prison for the rest of his life. Senior Pastor Stephen Wende said Lay "had great perspective on the situation. He felt like God could use him wherever that was, whether in jail, out of jail—Ken felt like he was ready to face the future." Wende said that the collapse of Enron, the trial, and the guilty verdict did not lessen his enthusiasm for life or his faith, and that now "his long night is over."

Lay built Enron from a natural gas pipeline company to an energy trading monolith that claimed over $100 billion in annual revenue. But in 2001 it was discovered that Enron’s finances were built on fraudulent partnerships and schemes, and the company quickly collapsed and filed for bankruptcy. The end of Enron wiped out more than $60 billion in market value, about $2 billion in pension plans, and thousands of jobs for dedicated Enron workers who were left with nothing. Lay maintained that he had done nothing wrong, and likened himself to a desperate captain trying to save a sinking ship in the months prior to the company’s declaration of bankruptcy.

Some former Enron workers were shocked and saddened by Lay’s sudden death, but not because of any empathy for Lay or his family. Lois Black, a legal secretary at Enron, said, "I don’t think justice was served. Dying is easy. Serving time is hard." Black lost $150,000 in retirement savings due to Lay’s deceptions. Now she caters children’s birthday parties to pay the bills. "I’m sorry that he didn’t have to serve time," Black said. "I’m sorry for his family that he died. It’s a huge loss to lose someone in your family like that. But I think he got off easy."

Tammie Huthmacher, a contract specialist who was laid off when Enron collapsed, said that Kenneth Lay’s death means that justice has just been served sooner. Huthmacher believes Lay’s death means "we don’t have to pay for him sitting in jail and watching cable TV and having luxuries."