it's only wild , unsubstantiated 'conspiracy theory' but it could have been 'natural causes'...it really could have been...

Enron ex-chief Kenneth Lay dies
Kenneth Lay, the former Enron chief executive and chairman convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges, has died.

According to US press reports, Mr Lay suffered a heart attack early on Wednesday morning in Aspen, Colorado.

Together with former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling, Mr Lay was convicted last May of hiding huge debts in the run-up to Enron's financial collapse.

Enron went bankrupt in 2001 with debts of $31.8bn (£18bn), leaving 4,000 people out of work.

Innocence maintained

After America's most high-profile corporate fraud trial, Mr Lay was found guilty on 25 May on all six fraud and conspiracy charges that he faced.


ENRON TIMELINE
1985: Enron formed
Oct 2001: Enron reports $638m third quarter loss and $1.2bn fall in shareholder equity
Oct 2001: Securities and Exchange Commission begins inquiry into firm
Nov 2001: Enron shares sink to 10-year lows as buyout deal falls through and further losses are revealed at the firm
Dec 2001: Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
2002: Criminal investigation launched
2004: Skilling and Lay charged. Former finance chief Andrew Fastow pleads guilty to criminal charges and agrees a 10-year jail term
Jan 2006: Enron trial begins
May 2006: Skilling and Lay found guilty of fraud and conspiracy, with sentencing to follow in October
June 2006: Lay files motion with US District Court in Houston seeking to have his conviction overturned
July 2006: Lay dies of heart attack at 64

He had posted a $5m bond to avoid custody until October when he would have been sentenced - to up to 45 years behind bars.

Mr Lay had always proclaimed his innocence, saying the company was brought down by a lack of investor confidence triggered by revelations that Enron's chief financial officer Andrew Fastow had stolen millions from the company.

He described Enron's collapse as "the most devastating and heartbreaking tragedy of my life".

The 64-year-old had led Enron for 15 years from its birth in 1986 after the merger of two Houston-based gas pipeline firms.

From this small beginning, Enron went on to become America's seventh biggest company and the world's largest energy trading firm.

Mr Lay handed the chief executive's role over to Jeffrey Skilling in 2001.

Mr Skilling was convicted on 19 counts of fraud and conspiracy and is expected to face a lengthy prison term.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/5151140.stm


*meanwhile , from deep within the bowels of the 'war room' a statement is issued to 'FAUX' News:

"hey , you never know , it coulda really been natural causes that kept kenny from spilling his guts...ummm , lemme re-phrase that ... i meant to say that it coulda really been natural causes that 'caused kenny's heart attack' and silenced a great friend of this administration...and i might add that it was quite patriotic for kenny not to spoil our holiday by waiting till AFTER the 4th of july and BEFORE his sentencing FOLLOWING his recent conviction --TO DIE SO CONVENIENTLY...kenny was a true friend of ours who was instrumental in deregulating the energy industry and helping to bring back 'big coal' into the energy picture --in spite of whining environmentalists always complaining and cry-babying about global warming , massive new amounts of air pollution ,the industry ripping up mountain tops and landscapes to mine coal ,this administration's lax safety standard enforcement killing a few more coal miners , increased acid rain ,huge amounts of mercury released into rivers , streams and the oceans by coal mining and the increased amounts of lung cancer from breathing more coal smoke found in all of the citizenry...good ole kennyboy was a true patriot"



"and georgie and dick , let me add that it was ken lay who helped me into the governor's chair in the great state of 'kalifor-nee-yah'...and all he asked in return for his support was to let ken and his buddies keep the $9 billion that the energy companies stole from the state by deliberately causing the power shortages and electricity 'brownouts' which outraged the citizens and resulted in the $8 billion budget deficit that directly led to the recall election that removed democrat grey davis from office and put a republican bodybuilder/actor and humble son of a nazi ss officer into the governor's mansion...today 'kalifor-nee-yah' , tomorrow the whitehouse and one day , the whole world...thank you for your help kenny..."

http://www.alternet.org/story/16902/