Ex-Enron chief accountant pleads guilty

The government’s case against Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the two senior former Enron executives, received a boost on Wednesday after Richard Causey, the group’s chief accountant, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and agreed to testify against his ex-bosses.

Some lawyers said Mr Causey – the 16th former Enron executive to help the government – could be a more important witness in the case against Mr Lay and Mr Skilling because Mr Fastow’s credibility was affected by the fact that he diverted millions of dollars from Enron for his own use.