Enron’s Ex-Treasurer Is Subject of Investigation

Former Enron Corp. Treasurer Ben F. Glisan Jr. has been told by prosecutors that he is a subject of investigation for possible criminal charges in the energy company’s collapse, court papers made public Friday say.

The Justice Department has been investigating several Enron-related off-the-books partnerships used to hide $1 billion in losses.

Prosecutors have been trying to seize Glisan’s bank account containing $916,137 that they say contains ill-gotten gains from a partnership called Southampton. Enron’s December 2001 bankruptcy filing is the second-largest in U.S. history.

Glisan wants court proceedings over the account halted because otherwise his “right against self-incrimination in the related criminal investigation will be burdened,” his lawyers said in court papers.

“Mr. Glisan has been informed by the Enron task force that he is a subject of that criminal investigation,” wrote Glisan’s lawyers in court papers.

Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo declined to comment.

And Henry F. Schuelke III, one of Glisan’s lawyers, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.

Southampton was a partnership through which former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew S. Fastow, former executive Michael Kopper and four other Enron employees received payments from LJM1, a partnership set up to buy and hold Enron assets, according to a report by a special committee of Enron’s board.

This month, Glisan said he wanted to return almost $629,000 of the $1.04 million he received from a $5,800 investment in the Southampton partnership.

In that court filing, he maintained his innocence.

“I consent to this payment despite my honest belief that I was an innocent owner of that money,” he said.

Glisan said he decided to turn in the money after reviewing documents related to criminal charges against Fastow and Kopper.