Senator calls for speedier Enron indictments

North Dakota’s Democrat Senator Byron Dorgan has written a letter to US Attorney General John Ashcroft inquiring why there has been no action in prosecuting former Enron executives.

Although the US Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against corporate executives who are alleged to have violated the law, including WorldCom’s chief financial officer Scott Sullivan and controller David Myers, prosecutors have been slow to move on Enron-related charges, Dorgan claimed.

“These arrests have been arranged to allow the American public to see corporate executives taken away in handcuffs. I support the Justice Department's actions to crack down on criminal behavior in the corporate suites. But I am writing to ask why no action has been taken against those who were responsible for illegal activities at the Enron Corporation,” Dorgan wrote.

“From our US Senate hearings and investigation, we know the Enron scandal is about document shredding, manipulating financial records, cheating investors, self enrichment of executives and more,” Dorgan added. “There is already so much information on the public record about wrongdoing in this matter, I hope we can count on there being an aggressive investigation underway that will bring to justice those who have broken the law.”