Did somebody mention Ken Lay?

* Amount of contributions that Enron gave to President Bush's 2000 campaign: $623,000

* Rank of Enron among Bush's campaign contributors in 2000: #1

* Out of 8 recommendations Enron made to Bush Administration's energy task force, number adopted: 7

* Amount that Georgia state pension plan lost due to Enron's 2001 bankruptcy, in millions: $127

* Amount that 20,000 Enron workers lost in retirement savings, in billions: $1.2

* Amount that top Enron executives made in stock sales before the bankruptcy, in billions: $1.1

* Amount that Enron Chairman Ken Lay personally made, in millions: $217


Source: The Institute for Southern Studies

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Pension settlement gets final approval
24 Mary 2005, Mary Flood, Houston Chronicle

Enron employees who lost their pension funds could get checks in as soon as six months after a federal judge's final approval on Tuesday of a settlement that could send about $69 million their way.

That amounts to about $3,500 per person when spread out over 20,000 current and former workers. The actual number who will qualify and the division of the money, however, could be quite different.

U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon approved the deal, which will use two Enron insurance policies to pay the workers — assuming there is no appeal. Other similar settlements have been paid in months.

Former Chairman Ken Lay and former CEO Jeff Skilling tried to stop this settlement before, because they were covered under the insurance being paid out but were excluded as settling defendants.

"The Enron plaintiffs are thrilled. We are hopeful that this will allow monies to be distributed to class members this year," said plaintiffs lawyer Lynn Sarko, who said he talked to six of the employees who went through depositions and years of work on the case.

An $85 million insurance settlement resolves claims against the Enron administrative committee and officers and directors, other than Lay and Skilling.

Another $1.5 million will come from a U.S. Department of Labor settlement of its lawsuit mirroring the employee complaint. The government is settling only with outside directors, and they are to personally pay the $1.5 million. About $300,000 could be paid to the government as a penalty.

The employees get $69 million because $17 million is set aside for the lawyers who worked on the case for four years.

The lawsuits stem from complaints that Enron executives and others breached their duty owed to employees under pension laws.

Sarko, a Seattle-based lawyer, said he thinks there will still be more money for the employees. He said the lawsuit will still proceed against Lay, Skilling, Enron itself and Northern Trust Co., a bank that worked specifically on the plan and could still be seen as a deep pocket in the case.