Two days after being convicted of conspiracy and fraud, former Enron Corp. chairman Ken Lay left Houston for Aspen, a spokesman for his church said.
Colorado, where Lay owns property, is the only state outside the Southern District of Texas, which includes Houston, where he can go before his Sept. 11 sentencing hearing. Lay and three of his children pledged deeds to their homes for his $5 million bail.
Instead of attending the weekly service at First Methodist Church on Main, Lay and his wife, Linda, decided to take a mini-vacation, said Allen Houk, a church spokesman.
“He called (his pastor, Stephen) Wende and said that they were going to get away for a few days because it had been pretty hectic,” Houk said.
Lay was found guilty of six counts of fraud and conspiracy Thursday in Houston. His co-defendant, Jeff Skilling, a former Enron chief executive and president, was found guilty of 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy and one count of illegal insider trading.
Both men face possible sentences of more than 100 years.
At the time Enron cratered, the Lays owned at least four properties in Aspen. In early 2002, all were put on the market and at least two were sold quickly – a 3,015-square-foot cottage on 3 acres near downtown Aspen for $10 million and a vacant lot for $2.15 million.
In 2003, they sold a 4,559- square-foot, four-bedroom home for $5.5 million, at a reported loss of $620,000, and another four-bedroom house for $4.5 million, at a reported loss of $296,000.
