Reply #6: Pouting because his lawyers can't get any witnesses to help him [View All]

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8D82AL84.html

Dozens of witnesses who have repeatedly refused to talk to Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling before their January trial may simply want nothing to do with their former bosses, federal prosecutors said in court papers made public Friday.

Lawyers for Lay, Skilling and the third defendant in their fraud and conspiracy case, former top Enron accountant Richard Causey, allege prosecutors have choked their efforts to prepare for trial with obvious or veiled threats that critical potential witnesses who talk to the defense could be indicted or face harsh sentences if they've already pleaded guilty to crimes.

"The experienced attorneys who represent these potential witnesses undoubtedly concluded that it is not in their clients' interest to subject them to defense interviews," prosecutors said in Friday's filing.

Last month Daniel Petrocelli, Skilling's lead trial lawyer, said the defense teams had whittled a list of dozens of potential witnesses to 38 particularly crucial people who have consistently refused to talk to them. Lay's lawyer, Michael Ramsey, told Lake in a hearing that the defense has seen a "pervasive freeze-up of witnesses," though he acknowledged later that some may just not want to help his client or the others.