Ex-Enron accounting chief seen next to face charges

HOUSTON -- Now that prosecutors have secured a guilty plea and cooperation from Enron Corp.'s former finance chief Andrew Fastow, criminal charges against the company's former top accountant won't be far behind, sources told The Associated Press.

Like Fastow, Enron's chief accounting officer Richard A. Causey answered directly to former Enron chief executives Kenneth Lay and his successor, Jeffrey Skilling.

Authorities were preparing a criminal complaint against Causey on charges stemming from the Justice Department's two-year investigation of the energy giant's collapse, people close to the investigation said last week, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But the parties involved in the guilty pleas from Fastow and his wife wanted those secured before moving on to Causey, the sources said. Snags in plea talks for Lea Fastow put any action against Causey on the back burner, the sources said this week.

With that now done, Causey could surrender as early as today, but more likely next week, the sources said. Mark Hulkower, one of Causey's lawyers, didn't immediately return calls for comment yesterday. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.