Judge Postpones Auditor’s Sentencing

A federal judge has postponed the sentencing of Arthur Andersen’s former top Enron Corp. auditor for the third time.

David B. Duncan, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in April for instructing his Enron audit staff to destroy unneeded documents before the energy giant failed last year, will be sentenced May 16, rather than Jan. 3.

Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston to postpone the sentencing so they could continue interviewing Duncan as their investigation into Enron and Andersen continues. Duncan’s cooperation is a condition of his plea deal.

Duncan had previously been scheduled to be sentenced in August and then October before the January date was set.

Duncan’s plea was the first to emerge from the Justice Department’s investigation of Enron’s collapse and Andersen’s role in it. Andersen was convicted in June of obstruction after a six-week trial that included 72 hours of jury deliberations spread over 10 days.