Fastow Sentenced to 6 Years

Andrew Fastow, Enron's former chief financial officer, was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the corporation's demise. The sentence was four years less that the agreed upon plea bargain, because U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt felt he deserved leniency.

The New York Times reports:

[T]he judge said he deserved a lighter sentence because Fastow has been persecuted after Enron's failure and because his family has suffered enough. Fastow's wife already has served a year for her role in the scandal.

''Prosecution is necessary, but persecution was not,'' U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt said. ''These factors call for mercy.''

Where is the mercy for the thousands of Enron employees and stockholders who lost jobs, their pensions and financial security?

Fastow was considered the mastermind behind financial schemes that led to Enron's downfall. The collapse wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans.

Rod Jordan, chairman of the Severed Enron Employee Coalition, said he was shocked and disappointed that Fastow was given a reduced sentence.

''I felt that anything less than 10 years was a slap in the face to the employees who suffered so much because of what Fastow did,'' he said. Hoyt ''didn't have to stick with the agreement but I think he should have. Maybe the judge knows something I don't. Do the crime, do the time.''

Maybe there is some justice in the world.

Fastow's sentence came on the same day former WorldCom Inc. chief Bernard Ebbers reported to a federal prison in Louisiana to begin a 25-year sentence for his role in the $11 billion accounting fraud that toppled the company he built from a tiny telecommunications firm to an industry leader.