HOUSTON (AP) — Convicted ex-Enron Corp. CEO JeffreySkilling’s more than 24-year prison
sentence for his role in the oncemighty energy giant’s collapse could be trimmed by as many as 10
yearsif a federal judge approves an agreement reached Wednesday betweenprosecutors and defense
attorneys.Under the agreement, Skilling’s original sentence will be reduced to somewhere between 14 and
17.5 years.Theagreement still has to be approved by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, whois set to hold a
June 21 hearing in Houston to make the final decisionon the length of Skilling’s sentence.Daniel
Petrocelli, Skilling’s attorney, says the agreement "brings certainty and finality to a long,
painful process."JusticeDepartment spokesman Peter Carr said the agreement will allow victimsof
Enron’s collapse to finally receive more than $40 million inrestitution. The ongoing status of the case
has so far prevented thegovernment from distributing Skilling’s seized assets to victims,according to
the agreement.Skilling’s sentence already was set to be reduced.Skillingwas convicted in 2006 on 19
counts of conspiracy, securities fraud,insider trading and lying to auditors for his role in the
downfall ofHouston-based Enron. The company collapsed into bankruptcy in 2001 underthe weight of years
of illicit business deals and accounting tricks.Skilling has been in prison since December 2006 and is
serving his sentence in a low security facility outside Denver.Anappeals court in 2009 upheld his
convictions but vacated his more than24-year prison term and ordered that he be resentenced, saying
asentencing guideline was improperly applied, resulting in a longerprison term.The U.S. Supreme Court
said in 2010 that one of hisconvictions was flawed when it sharply curtailed the use of the
"honestservices" fraud law — a short addendum to the federal mail and wirefraud statute that
makes it illegal to scheme to deprive investors of"the intangible right to honest
services."The Supreme Court ruledthat prosecutors can use the law only in cases where evidence
shows thedefendant accepted bribes or kickbacks and that because Skilling’smisconduct entailed no such
things, he did not conspire to commithonest-services fraud.The Supreme Court told a lower court to
decide whether Skilling deserved an entirely new trial. The lower court said no.Skilling,59, was the
highest-ranking executive to be punished for Enron’sdownfall. Enron founder Kenneth Lay’s similar
convictions were vacatedafter he died of heart disease less than two months after trial.Enron’scollapse
put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2billion in employee pensions and rendered
worthless $60 billion inEnron stock. Its aftershocks were felt across the city and the
energyindustry.___Follow Juan A. Lozano at http://www.twitter.com/juanlozano70
.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.