Is there life after death?

Lawyers for Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay took their first official step yesterday toward erasing his felony convictions in light of his death last month.

Lay, 64, was convicted May 25 of fraud and conspiracy in the federal government's foremost criminal trial to emerge from the disgraced company's flameout. His co-defendant, former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, 52, was convicted of 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors.

Jurors determined both repeatedly lied about Enron's financial health when they knew complicated and ultimately unsustainable financial structures hid debt and inflated profits. Lay and Skilling insisted they didn't lie.

Lay's July 5 death came before he had appealed or been sentenced, so his legal team can ask U.S. District Judge Sim Lake to wipe his record clean.

But first, Lake has to approve substituting Lay's estate for Lay himself so the entity can act on his behalf. In a court filing yesterday, Lay's attorneys said that step needs to be taken so Lay's estate "may move to vacate the convictions of Mr. Lay and dismiss the indictment."

http://www.nypost.com/business/ken_lay_may_still_beat_rap_business_.htm