The wife of Enron Corp.'s former chief financial officer returned home last week, two days short of spending a year in federal custody for failing to declare her husband's illegal kickbacks.
Lea Fastow plead guilty last year to a misdemeanor tax crime for failing to report payments from her husband's illegal dealings at the bankrupt energy company. A former assistant treasurer at Enron, who left the company in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom, Fastow had signed off on the couple's joint tax return, declaring the income as gifts. She was never accused of any crimes at the company.
Fastow's husband Andrew was indicted in 2003 on nearly 100 counts directly related to the fall of Enron and will be a key witness in the January 2006 trial of Enron founder Kenneth Lay, former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and former top accountant Richard Causey. He later plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy and will be sentenced to a ten-year prison term next June.
"She is home with the kids, who were allowed to stay up to greet her," Fastow's attorney, Mike DeGeurin, told the Associated Press Thursday, referring to the couple's two sons. "She made no statement and wants some private, quiet time with her family." Fastow will remain under the supervision of a federal parole officer for another year.
