Former Enron Corp Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow, accused of bilking millions from the bankrupt energy trader, is trying to save cash by selling a Vermont cabin.
After he was indicted in October on fraud charges, Fastow posted the property in Norwich, Vermont, as bond for his release from custody. A federal judge in Houston gave Fastow permission in an order made public Monday to sell the land and deposit the proceeds with the court.
Fastow wants to "be relieved of the costs of ownership, such as real-estate taxes," according to his court papers. His tax bill in fiscal year 2003 is about US$4,000, according to Dennis Kaufman, chairman of the Norwich Board of Listers. The house will likely sell for more than the US$289,000 he and wife, Lea, paid in 1998, according to Kaufman.
Property values have increased about 50 percent in the past five years, he said.
"This is belt-tightening time for Mr. Fastow, who has teams of lawyers helping him with his criminal case, other government investigations and class action lawsuits," said Jacob Frenkel, a partner and white-collar crime expert at Smith, Gambrell & Russell.
Fastow pleaded innocent Nov. 6 to 78 counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges. He is accused of masterminding a series of partnerships to hide US$1 billion in Enron debt. The secret deals also brought him more than US$30 million, a report for Enron's board of directors said.
His spokesman, Gordon Andrew, declined to comment.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2