Justice Dept., Andersen Close to Deal

The Justice Department and accounting firm Andersen hope to announce a settlement of the company’s criminal indictment by Wednesday, but no deal has been reached, a source familiar with the matter said Monday.

The two sides are negotiating an agreement in which the firm would acknowledge wrongdoing by certain employees in the shredding of documents related to Enron Corp. Andersen would be put on probation for as long as three years, during which it would have to implement companywide reforms and refrain from further infractions.

In exchange, the government would defer prosecution of its obstruction-of-justice charge, with the charge eventually being dismissed if Andersen satisfied the conditions of the deal. Andersen views a dismissal of the charge as key to its survival.

As part of the agreement, Andersen would cooperate in the government’s investigation into possible wrongdoing at Enron that led to its bankruptcy protection filing.

Andersen has sought a settlement since last week, when David B. Duncan, its top Enron auditor, pleaded guilty to a similar obstruction-of-justice charge. Duncan’s plea weakened Andersen’s possible legal defense in a trial scheduled for May 6, legal experts have said.

Walter Hamilton