If at First He Doesn't Succeed, You Try, Try Again

In a curious parallel of the criminal case that grew out of the Enron scandal, lawyers representing the failed energy company in a civil suit are accusing opposing counsel of bullying potential witnesses.

William J. McSherry Jr., a lawyer representing what's left of Enron in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan, told the judge hearing the case that Citigroup is using severance agreements to "intimidate former employees into silence."

This is hurting his effort to press Enron's claims against the banks behind the off-balance-sheet deals that ultimately led to the company's collapse.

While his letter didn't name the employees he believes to have been intimidated, McSherry asked the court to forbid Citigroup to use severance pacts to muzzle ex-employees.

Citigroup dismissed the allegation as "absurd" in a statement. It said that "almost 50" current and former Citigroup employees have testified in "various Enron proceedings."

Absurd or not, the intimidation claim is sure familiar.

Five years ago, when criminal proceedings in the Enron collapse were on the boil, a lawyer for the energy company's auditor, Arthur Andersen, accused federal prosecutors of trying to intimidate witnesses.

In that case, the lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said the threat came in the form of potential criminal indictment rather than the loss of a buyout package or pension benefits, and the assertion was made in vain.

Still, its enough to make one wonder...

by Mark Stein