DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The former co-chief executive of Enron Broadband Services, Enron
Corp.'s (ENE) failed telecommunications business, was sentenced
Monday to 16 months in prison and ordered to forfeit about $7
million.
The money will go to victims through the Securities and Exchange
Commission's Enron Fair Fund.
Joseph Hirko of Portland, Ore., last year pleaded guilty to a
charge of wire fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in
other broadband prosecutions. According to admissions Hirko made as
a part of his plea, he helped disseminate misstatements about the
technical viability of Enron's Broadband Services division.
In July 2005, a trial of Hirko and four other executives of
Enron Broadband Services ended in a hung jury.
Enron, once among the largest companies in the U.S. by market
value, collapsed into bankruptcy proceedings in December 2001 after
years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions in debt or
make failing ventures appear profitable.
Although the company was primarily an energy trader, the
broadband unit was created in 1998 as another growth engine during
the dot-com boom.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com