Ken Lay dies at age 64

July 5, 2006

[tag]Ken Lay[/tag] [tag]died[/tag] this morning, reportedly from a massive heart attack.

The recently convicted former [tag]Enron[/tag] chairman Kenneth L. Lay, 64, died early today in Aspen, Colo., a family spokeswoman and the sheriff’s office said. Lay, convicted of fraud and conspiracy for his part in the Houston-based energy company’s collapse, faced the possibility of life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for October.

Family spokeswoman Kelly Kimberly said Lay died of a [tag]heart attack[/tag]. A statement from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and an ambulance were sent to Lay’s vacation home in Old Snowmass at 1:41 a.m. for “a medical emergency.”

“Mr. Lay was transported to Aspen Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m.,” the statement said. “A coroner’s autopsy is pending,” the statement said.

Lay’s death comes about a month after he was convicted on multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud. He was scheduled to return to court for sentencing in October.

It’s a little difficult to know how one is supposed to react to news like this. It seems terribly inappropriate to celebrate the death of almost anyone, even over-the-top criminals. But it also seems unfair to those Lay conned, lied to, and stole from to suggest “all is forgiven” now that he’s passed.

Lay’s family deserves condolences, but history will remember Lay as a man who literally destroyed the lives of thousands. At the risk of sounding callous, I think it’s fair to make note of that fact, even today.

I’m not buying it, no way.
He had Korea clone him and then the heartless bastard murdered his clone.

I am not celebrating his death, but as a Houstonite, I can say that it could not have happened to a nicer fella. No one is celebrating, but plenty of people walking around with a little extra step in their walk to day.

Could be the holidays, I guess.

  • CB, that was a very well written article.

    When I read it, thoughts coursed through my mind. Which ‘Lay’ is this? Oh, the Enron Lay. Do I really mind he is dead? Not much. Is it really natural, or was he about to spill the beans on his pet politicians? Nah, too conspiracy theorist. Shouldn’t I just feel bad for the family? Or should I feel bad for Houston and all his shafted employees and shareholders?

    I think I’d feel bad for the employees, except these are the people who got ‘rich’ off of little California widows whose electricity prices they manipulated. Not a lot of angels in that group. The employees of a company that got rich off of manipulating the energy market to the detrimant of the American consumer maybe doesn’t deserve our pity?

  • Heart attack?

    You mean Ken Lay had a heart? Who knew?

    Talk about irony.

    (Yes, I know I’m going to hell.)

  • i’m looking forward to reading the autopsy to see how “self-inflicted gunshot wound” has been interpreted as a “heart attack.”

    it’s too bad that he’s dead. he should have served 10-15 years before dying on the floor of his cell alone. he got off easy while the rest of the world has to live with what he did.

  • I think I’d feel bad for the employees, except these are the people who got ‘rich’ off of little California widows whose electricity prices they manipulated.

    Not all employees (and I’d guess that most employees), got rich. My cousin worked for Enron for many long years, and at age 60 was wiped out financially.

    My feeling is that many people will feel cheated by Lay’s death. I think lot’s of people wanted to see him go to prison.

  • I’m sorry if I don’t have sympathy for a 64 year old multi-millionare who was convicted of one of the largest white collar crimes ever. Personally, I wish he would have died in prison. The fact he was in Aspen really does not improve my opinion of the whole affair. If Lay was a bank robber would we be seeing carefully crafted obits? My guess is no. What if Lay were a drug lord? My guess is he ruined or at least impacted as many lives while personally profiting. Would the public shed a tear that he had a massive coronary at his Aspen mountain home? Not so much. Sympathy for Lay is the embodyment of class warfare in America. He was rich, white, and in business therfore he deserves sympathy—NOT! I just hope we can extract as much money from his grieving family as possible.

  • here’s a question: will bush go to kenny boy’s funeral, despite never going to one for a fallen serviceman?

  • As SWMBO said upon reading the news, “I’ll believe it when I see the body with the stake through the heart.” That’s the only “heart attack” Kenny-Boy would be capable of dying of, since we all know Republicans don’t come equipped with that item (which is why I can’t figure out Cheney’s health problems).

    What I found amazing was to discover that he was only 2 years older than I am, but he looked like he was in his 70s (like Cheney does). I guess that’s what happens when you sell your soul to the devil.

  • Yes, the Drudge Report had a flashing siren scoop this morning of Ken Lay Commits Suicide. I’m not sure he was ehtical enough to commit suicide.

    I kept misreading the headline Ken Lay Dead at 64 as meaning Ken, lay dead, at 64. I thought there was a Barbie-related incident.

  • If you think Cheney and Lay looked bad at their ages, you should see the portraits they have hidden in their attics.

  • And as far as feeling bad for him is concerned, he’s now a “good Republican,” as in “The only ‘good Republicans’ are pushing up daisies.”

    Good riddance to bad rubbish, too damn bad he didn’t die of AIDS in prison after ten years as “the old bitch.”

  • “Not all employees (and I’d guess that most employees), got rich. My cousin worked for Enron for many long years, and at age 60 was wiped out financially.” – kanopsis

    My point being that all the retirement savings your cousin had in Enron stock was based on a company whose sole ‘worth’ was built on manipulating the price of energy after deregulation. Having confidence on a house of cards built on the suffering of the marginal of our society and having to face the consquences of its fall does not envoke sympathy from me.

    I have to agree with other posters that Lay should have died in prison, not Aspen. Makes one wonder at the existence of a ‘Just’ God.

  • Personally, I felt nothing when I learned about the death of Kenny Boy.

    My sympathy goes to all those people whose lives he ruined.

  • Tom, rape is not an appropriate form of punishment. The fact that rape occurs frequently in our prisons is something to be ashamed of, not something to celebrate (not that it would happen in a prison of the type that Lay would have been sent to).

  • Al Capone had more charm. Pretty Boy Floyd was, well, prettier. Bonnie and Clyde made greater contributions to the arts. Vito Corleone had more integrity.

    Cood riddance to bad rubbish.

  • Lay’s family deserves condolences

    Not from me.

    His wife can console herself on the $200,000 yacht Lay just bought her for her birthday even though he was supposedly $100 million in debt (see the obit)… The fact that they still have a home in Aspen and other spoils of his scams negates any sympathy from me.

  • KCinDC:

    And how many people did Ken Lay “rape” over the years??? I merely think he should have been on the receiving end for a few times to answer for the millions of rapes he committed. Just like I think Stephen D. Green should be thrown out of a helicopter naked into the main square of Hamoudiya, Iraq, so he can pay for his crime in person.

  • Wow, Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin have nothing on some of the Ken Lay death comments (here and on other blogs). Such anger – no wonder the world is off balance. Be better than the hateful right wing bloggers, you might even feel good about it.

  • Ann Coulter called the 9/11 widows harpies because they gave John Kerry campaign contributions.

    Ken Lay ruined the lives of thousands of his own employees.

    We being fair Karen. And we feel Good because we are Good!

  • Kenny Boy’s heart must have given out when he finally realized he was going into the slammer and wasn’t coming out. I wonder if we can make his wife serve his sentence in his stead. Somebody should pay for his crimes.

  • His wife can console herself on the $200,000 yacht Lay just bought her for her birthday even though he was supposedly $100 million in debt (see the obit)… The fact that they still have a home in Aspen and other spoils of his scams negates any sympathy from me.

    Anyone know if Mr. Lay’s and his family’s assets can still be seized even though he’s dead? I’d think the federal courts and any civil judgment against Mr. Lay might have some claim on that yacht and Aspen vacation home.

  • Heart attack? Uh huh.

    Fuck him. I’m glad he’s dead. It’s a good day today.

  • Lay and his minions not only screwed their employees, but also screwed over the entire state of California with their little electricity scam. A scam that was partially forgiven by Lay’s buddy, Arnie and ignored by Lay’s other buddy, Bush.

  • On the whole prison rape issue… I’ve long contended that if you just videotaped one white-collar criminal being violated by some street thug lifer, and showed it to new hires as part of the orientation process at all major businesses, corporate crime would drop in spectacular fashion.

  • Karen (#21),

    Nietzsche said “When you fight monsters you should be careful not to become one yourself.” I agree with you, but it’s not at all unnatural to rejoice in the death of Ken Lay. I’ve been waiting all along for the courts to go through their endless procedures (leaving Kenny Boy his Aspens and his yachts), just to the Regal Moron pardon him. Better this way – off the planet. Not “just” by a long shot certainly, but good enough for me.

  • Yeah, and why am I guessing Tony was one of the folks stoking the “Clintons had Vince Foster killed” nonsense? Where is the SCLM spinning conspiracy theories about BushCo ordering hits?

  • I have to admit I share some of the resentment other’s have expressed. Considering some of the draconian punishments we have put in place for non-violent drug offenders, it still boggles my mind that Kenny Boy got a wrist slap for destroying huge numbers of lives and was still hanging in Aspen, buying yachts, and doing paid speaking engagements where he blamed all his problems on investors and the media.

    Look at the Duke-stir, we are talking about selling out national defense for antiques and hookers and he’ll spend what, 7 years in club Fed?

    I personally don’t feel that strongly about wanting Kenny to have lived the life of a ‘big house bitch’. But, even though I’m a Californian, I wasn’t hurt that directly by his actions. Also, his lying and greed aren’t one of my ‘buttons’. Rush popping Viagra and abusing children in the DR pushes a button, so I rant about him spending cage time with ‘Thunder Dick’…

    Truth be told, I sincerely don’t think rape is any more appropriate in prison than in dorm rooms. But a taste for ‘Old Testament’ justice seems to be in our nature. Given the right circumstances, our distaste for things often disappears. So kudo’s to Carpetbagger taking the high road, and several people here reminding us that we should aspire to be better.

    -jjf

  • Trickle-down Enron crime hit us though we weren’t directly invested in the company. After getting hit by a noticeably higher bill for our homeowners insurance a couple of years back (after Enron went belly up), I called our agent who admitted that the insurance co. had invested in an Enron-owned utility, and we were now paying for it through a higher premium. In some way, I’m sure we are all paying for Kenny-boy’s crimes.

  • Presumably those of you condoning prison rape were big fans of Abu Ghraib?

    Ken Lay was evil.That doesn’t mean we should be evil in response. Hell, torture is the biggest stain Bush has put on the American flag. We’re supposed to be the good guys. I’m certainly not abandoning that idea for Ken Lay, any more than I’m abandoning it for terrorists.

  • Ken Lay dead at 64? I want to see the DNA confirmation. Just how many millions do you think it would take to fake his death and have a few govt. functionaries (coroner, etc) go along with the coverup? Let’s see, if they paid off some poor schmo to have plastic surgery about the time Lay’s lawyer started telling him that the jig was up, the length of the trial would have been sufficient to heal the facial scars enough to have the guy pass for Kenny Boy in a coffin. A couple mil to the coroner and presto, off to South America (or Hollywood) for Kenny’s own plastic surgery.

    Could it happen? You bet. Did it happen? Who knows? We speculate, you decide.

  • I think you miss the point of “forgiveness”.

    It isn’t for the perpatrator, it is freeing to the victim. One doesn’t have to gloat over a death, life took care of him…he didn’t get to spend all his ill-gotten gains stolen from so many peoples future.

    But the fact is, we are all still alive (if you are reading this) and he isn’t…so in the end, it didn’t help him at all. You don’t have to do anything, and I’m not suggesting “condining” what he did, just pointing out that bitterness, hate, thoughts of revenge, wanting to see someone suffer for their crimes (and it is never enough), all are negatives that continue to affect the victims if they don’t allow forgiveness, or at least make peace in their own minds towards something.

    If you are alive, you can laugh, you can be satisfied, you can love, you can LIVE as long as you are alive, or you can be filled with bitterness and hate…the choice is completely yours, buy YOU have to live with the consequences of how you choose to react to life, to evil corrupt theives…

    Just writing this helps me a little with the oppressive feelings that come from reading about, seeing the effects of our current immoral government.

  • Maybe you should count your blessings that he died instead of using your tax dollars to keep him alive and well in Federal Prison.

    Some of you actually sicken me with you posts.

    Have a great day.

  • I sincerely doubt they have a plague of rape in the prison where rich white folks go. Either way I would like to come down firmly on the anti-rape of all kinds side. That said, Key Lay was a sumbag. He was smug, arrogant and represented everything that is wrong with free-market capitalism. Don’t get me wrong there is a lot right with free-market capitalism.

    Tom Joad – There is a benefit to forgiveness and I do not think that the majority of the people posting here were personally harmed by Ken Lay over the long term. My “hate” if you want to call it that, is with the crime and the system that allow it to happen and not with the criminal. Through his actions Ken Lay erased any sympathy that I may have had for him. Rest assured I will not be fighting off fits of rage over Ken Lay. I suspect I will be done giving him any attention what-so-ever by the weekend.

    The end of Ken Lay does not justify his actions. At the same time, wire fraud and conspirancy are not punishable by death in this country. Ken Lay died. Ken Lay was a criminal.

    carina – I will happily pay for a long and dismal stay in the Federal Pen. for Jeff Skilling and anyone else convicted of wrong doing in this case.

  • My sympathies lie with the employees of Enron who lost their life savings, I’m pretty indifferent about Lay’s death. The thing that galls me is that Lay’s heirs will get to keep his ill-gotten gains by default.

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