Former Enron chief Ken Lay died suddenly today of a massive coronary at age 64. Lay had been scheduled for sentencing in October, but the convicted fraudster found out that cheating death takes a little more savvy than cheating stockholders:

Pastor Steve Wende of First United Methodist Church of Houston, said in a statement that church member Lay died unexpectedly of a "massive coronary.''

Wende said Lay and his wife, Linda, were in Aspen, Colo., for the week "and his death was totally unexpected. Apparently, his heart simply gave out.''

The Lays owned property in Colorado, the only state outside the Southern District of Texas, which includes Houston, where he was allowed to go before that sentencing. ...

According to a statement from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office, deputies and an ambulance had been sent to Lay's Old Snowmass home at 1:41 a.m. for a medical emergency. Lay was then transported to Aspen Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m. A coroner's autopsy is pending.

Many people will find themselves bitterly disappointed that Lay never served a day in prison for his crimes, especially the stockholders who lost so much money after believing in Lay's lies. The man who became the poster boy for the excesses and manipulations of the 1990s bubble wound up dying on vacation at his summer estate. The Lord will exercise justice, certainly, but Lay made it out of here without having to answer fully for his deeds.

It's a shame, for so many reasons.

UPDATE: I'm not "taking it down", and I challenge those who see something objectionable about this post to tell me specifically -- from what I wrote -- what it is. Ken Lay enriched himself to the tune of millions of dollars through misrepresentation and fraud, and beyond that through abusive business practices, setting up false shortages to drive prices higher based on panic. Thanks to Ken Lay and a few other bubble fraudsters, we now have Sarbanes-Oxley sucking at productivity in every publicly-held corporation in America.

I feel sympathy for his family, but none for Lay himself. He died rich and left behind many who watched their investments disappear into thin air, never to return. He paid no restitution and died at his summer estate, in the lap of luxury.

FYI, even when I write bad posts, I don't take them down or delete them. I live with my mistakes.

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