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MER ,,, Enron Barge Defendants to Be Sentenced
Wednesday May 11, 2:38 pm ET
By Kristen Hays, AP Business Writer
Remaining Enron Barge Defendants to Be Sentenced; May Serve Fewer Than Five Years


HOUSTON (AP) -- A former Enron Corp. executive and two former Merrill Lynch & Co. executives convicted of participating in a sham deal could serve fewer than five years in prison if a judge imposes sentences similar to those given to their co-defendants.
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The three executives -- who were to be sentenced Thursday -- and two other Merrill Lynch executives were convicted last year of conspiracy and fraud for helping push through Enron's bogus 1999 sale of power plants mounted on barges to the brokerage so the energy company could appear to have met earnings targets.

The barge deal didn't contribute to Enron's 2001 crash, but the case illustrated Wall Street participation in Enron crimes to please what was then a lucrative client.

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein last month rejected as irrational the government's push for double-digit sentences for two of the Merrill defendants in comparison to lesser terms for former Enron executives who committed more crimes and cut plea deals.

Werlein noted the 10-year sentence awaiting former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow and the five-year term being served by former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan Jr. as benchmarks for the barge defendants.

Fastow is credited with running myriad schemes that fueled Enron's downfall while pocketing millions on the side, and Glisan profited from a shady Fastow deal. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

Last month the judge sentenced Daniel Bayly, Merrill's former head of investment banking, to 2 1/2 years in prison and James A. Brown, former head of the brokerage's asset lease group, to three years and 10 months. The government wanted up to 15 years for Bayly and up to 33 years for Brown, who also was convicted of perjury and obstruction for lying to a grand jury about the barge deal.

"The plain principle here is that those with similar records whose criminal conduct is similar should have similar sentences," he said during Bayly's sentencing hearing.

To be sentenced Thursday are Dan Boyle of Houston, a former midlevel Enron finance executive; Robert Furst of Dallas, Merrill's former Enron relationship manager; and William Fuhs of Denver, a former Merrill vice president who answered to Brown.

Defense filings on behalf of Furst and Boyle didn't identify prison terms recommended by probation officials, whose reports are not public record. A filing on Fuhs' behalf said probation officials recommended that Fuhs, whose role in the barge deal was the most minimal of the five defendants, serve seven to nine years.

The government said in court documents that Furst, Boyle and Fuhs are "utterly unrepentant" for their crimes and continue to argue that no fraud occurred despite guilty verdicts.

William Rosch, Boyle's attorney, asked Werlein to consider probation. Boyle also was convicted of lying to congressional investigators about the barge deal.

"Mr. Boyle has no criminal history and prior to getting caught up in a revolving door with rattlesnakes, Mr. Boyle lived an ordinary life," the filing said.

Fuhs' lawyer, David Spears, asked Werlein to consider a year or less of prison or home confinement for his client.

"Putting aside the barge deal, Mr. Fuhs has lived a truly exemplary life," the filing said.

Furst's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, declined comment on sentencing recommendations for his client.





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