Judge moves retrial for Merrill Lynch exec in Enron case while dismissing case against another
By APThursday, January 14, 2010
Retrial for Merrill Lynch exec rescheduled
HOUSTON — A federal judge in Houston has rescheduled the retrial of a former Merrill Lynch executive whose 2004 Enron-related fraud and conspiracy convictions were overturned.
U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. on Thursday moved Robert S. Furst’s retrial to May 17. It had been set for Feb. 8.
Werlein also dismissed charges against another executive, Daniel Bayly, at the request of prosecutors.
Furst, Bayly and a third executive were convicted in 2004 of conspiracy and wire fraud. They were accused of helping push through Enron’s sham sale to Merrill Lynch of three power barges moored off the Nigerian coast in 1999. The deal was struck to make the earnings of Enron’s energy division appear larger.
Enron Corp. collapsed into bankruptcy in December 2001.
