Army Chief Probed for Enron Trading-WSJ

Mon Apr 15, 4:57 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing Army Secretary Thomas White for possible insider trading in the sale of Enron Corp. shares last year, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday.

Investigators are focusing on calls and contacts White, a former vice chairman at the collapsed energy trader, made in October, when he sold half his holdings, or $3.08 million in Enron stock, the paper reported.

FBI (news - web sites) agents have been interviewing White's friends and former colleagues about whether he sought or acted on inside information from them on the company's fast deteriorating finances last call, the paper reported.

But several interviewed by the FBI say they've told the agents that the calls were largely personal and didn't involve insider information, the Journal reported. White is already being investigated by the Defense Department's inspector general for his travels, having raised eyebrows with a recent trip to Aspen, Colorado aboard an Army aircraft to sell a house.

White has in the past denied knowledge of Enron's off balance sheet partnerships that allowed it to keep large amounts of debt off its books and maintain investment grade debt rating.

-- (another one of Dubya's @ appointed. crooks), April 15, 2002

Answers

And to think, shrub declared no one in his administration would even give the impression of impropriety. Guess he expected them to keep it secret or out from becoming public knowledge.

he expected the country to have the same attitude as Texas, where corruption is the norm and accepted, and the norm. Where people looks the other way, wink, wink, knod, knod.

-- Cherri (whatever@who.cares), April 16, 2002.

Whistling Past the Cemetery? Administration officials have so far brushed the Pitt controversy off as nothing but a partisan-motivated attack. But, privately they are concerned that this new revelation will send Pitt down the same path as Army Secretary White.

White also came to the administration carrying significant Enron baggage. And, as questions about his behavior in office began to surface, the administration also brushed them off as partisan attacks against a good man.

But, less than two years later White is under veritable siege. He is under FBI investigation for possible insider trading. His contacts with Enron after he took office were extensive. White has already admitted to having at least 80 phone conversations with his former Enron colleagues since taking office and he has been accused of lying to Congress about the disposition of his Enron holdings.

Calls for White's resignation have come from Capitol Hill and dozens of public interest groups. The first call for Pitt's resignation came earlier this month from the powerful public watchdog group, Common Cause.

With the SEC is at the very center of the storm over public company accounting practices, this new allegation against its chairman, Harvey Pitt, is likely to spark additional calls for his resignation.

-- Cherri (whatever@who.cares), May 24, 2002.