Skilling sentenced to 24 years in prison

安然前总裁斯奇林被判入狱24年

　　Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was ordered Monday to serve 24 years and four months in prison, the harshest punishment by far in Enron's scandalous collapse¹ and one that capped a string of tough sentences for top executives in corruption² cases.

　　星期一，安然前总裁杰弗里·斯奇林被判入狱24年零4个月。前安然公司高层管理人员因在公司倒闭丑闻中涉嫌一系列的贪污腐败而受到严判。他是迄今为止所有人员中被判最重的。

　　U.S. District Judge Sim Lake denied Skilling's request for bond and ordered him to home confinement³, wearing an ankle monitor. Lake, who told the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to recommend when Skilling should report to prison, suggested the 52-year-old be sent to the federal facility in Butner, N.C., for his role in a case that came to symbolize⁴ corporate⁵ fraud in America.

　　美国地方法官西门·莱克拒绝了斯奇林取保候审的请求，要求他不得离开自己的住所地，并不得摘下脚踝上的监控器。莱克就斯奇林何时到监狱报到听取了美国监狱管理局的意见后，他建议将这位52岁的前总裁送到纽约巴特勒的联邦监狱服刑，这是由他在这一起具有象征意义的美国商业欺诈中所扮演的角色所决定的。

　　"His crimes have imposed on hundreds if not thousands a life sentence of poverty," Lake said.

　　莱克表示：“他的罪行致使即便没有上千人，也有上百人永远生活在贫困中。”

　　The former chief executive officer will be eligible⁶ to shave up to 54 days a year off his sentence for good behavior in prison. Lake also ordered Skilling to undergo alcohol and mental-health counseling. A successful completion of that treatment would take a year off his sentence.

　　如果这位前总裁在狱中表现好的话，他将可以每年得到54天的假期。莱克同时命令斯奇林接受禁酒和心理健康方面的咨询和治疗。如果这些治疗成功的话，他将可以减刑一年。

　　Skilling, insisting he was innocent yet remorseful⁸ in a two-hour hearing, was the last top former official to be punished for the accounting⁹ tricks and shady business deals that led to the loss of thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in Enron stock and more than $2 billion in employee pension plans after the company imploded¹⁰ in 2001.

　　斯奇林在2小时的审讯中虽然表示了悔恨，但他坚称自己无罪。他是最后一位因为财务诈骗和暗箱交易被判刑的前安然高官。这些罪行最终导致了成千上万的人失业，超过600亿美元的安然股票和超过20亿美元的员工养老金计划在2001年公司倒闭后化为乌有。

　　His remaining assets, about $60 million, will be liquidated¹¹, according to an agreement among lawyers for Enron employees, the company's savings¹² and stock ownership plans, prosecutors¹³ and Skilling's legal team.

　　根据来自安然员工代理律师、公司储蓄和股权分配计划律师、检察官和斯奇林的律师团所达成的协议，他大约有6000万美元的个人剩余资产将被清算。

　　About $45 million will be put in a restitution¹⁴ fund for victims. The remaining $15 million will go to Skilling's legal fees, said Lynn Sark, attorney for the Enron Corp. Savings Plan and Stock Ownership Plan. The Justice Department allowed Skilling to set aside $23 million for his defense¹⁵ when he was indicted¹⁶; he still owed his lawyers $30 million as of Monday.

　　其中，大约有4500万美元将用于赔偿此案的受害者。余下的1500万美元将用作斯奇林的律师费用，安然储蓄计划和股权分配计划的律师林·萨克表示。在受到指控的时候，司法部允许斯奇林留置2300万美元作为支付辩护律师的费用。但因为周一的出庭，他依然还欠律师3000万美元的律师费。

　　Outside the courthouse, Skilling vowed¹⁷ to appeal his sentence and also asked that his restitution money go straight to victims, instead of being seized first by the federal government. His attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said the restitution will be held until all of Skilling's appeals are exhausted¹⁸.

　　走出法庭后，斯奇林声称他将上诉，同时他也要求他赔偿的钱应该直接给受害人而不是首先被联邦政府攥在手中。他的代理律师丹尼尔·帕特塞利说，赔偿金只有在斯奇林所有的上诉结束后才开始发放。

　　Skilling had stood with his hands clasped below his waist, with Petrocelli at his side while being sentenced. He gave no visible reaction. After court adjourned¹⁹, Skilling hugged Petrocelli.

　　在宣判的时候，斯奇林双手抱在腰上，帕特塞利站在他身边。他没有做出任何反应。法庭休会后，他拥抱了帕特塞利。

　　Skilling's term is the longest received by any Enron defendant²⁰; former Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow was given a six-year term after cooperating with prosecutors and helping²¹ them secure Skilling's conviction.

　　斯奇林的刑期是所有安然公司被告中最长的。前财务主管安德鲁·法斯托被判6年徒刑，因为他与检察机关合作，协助他们确定了斯奇林的犯罪事实。

　　It falls just shy of the sentence imposed on WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, who received 25 years for his role in the $11 billion accounting fraud that toppled the company he built from a tiny telecommunications firm to an industry giant. Another CEO, Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco International Ltd., received a sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison in another fraud case.

　　这一判决相对于如下的案件就有点不足为奇了。WorldCom总裁伯纳德·艾伯尔斯因110亿美元的财务欺诈而致使公司倒闭获刑25年。他曾把一家微不足道的电讯公司建设成了WorldCom这样一个产业巨头。另外个例子是丹尼斯·科日罗夫斯基，他是Tyco国际有限公司的总裁，也是因为欺诈案获刑8年零4个月至25年。

　　Skilling's co-defendant, Enron founder²² Kenneth Lay, died from heart disease on July 5. Lay's convictions on 10 counts of fraud, conspiracy²³ and lying to banks in two separate cases were wiped out with his death.

　　斯奇林的共同被告，安然的创始人肯尼斯·雷因心脏病于7月5日去世。雷的10项欺诈，共谋和欺骗银行罪作为两项独立案件随着他的去世而结束调查。

　　Skilling's arrogance²⁴, belligerence²⁵ and lack of contriteness²⁶ under questioning made him a lightning rod for the rage generated after Enron sought bankruptcy²⁷ protection in 2001. Lay was once a leading city father whose charitable good works and affable nature endeared him locally. Skilling was little known outside Enron until his anger at being caught brought his personality into public focus.

　　安然2001年寻求破产保护后，由于斯奇林的自傲、好斗和执迷不悔，他成为当时愤怒的人们攻击的对象。雷一直乐善好施，平易近人，深受当地人的敬爱。在事发后斯奇林恼羞成怒，这才使得公众了解到他的个性。本来除了在安然内部，斯奇林的名字并不大为人熟知。

　　"Your honor, I am innocent of these charges," Skilling told Lake Monday. "I'm innocent of every one of these charges.

　　“尊敬的法官，我是无辜的，”斯奇林星期一告诉莱克。“我是完全是无辜的。这些指控完全与我无关。”

　　"We will continue to pursue my constitutional rights and it's no dishonor to this court and anyone else in this court. But I feel very strongly about this, and I want my friends, my family to know that."

　　“我们将继续争取宪法赋予我的权利。站在今天的法庭上，我，任何一个人都不意味着耻辱。但是我却深深感到可耻。我希望我的朋友、我的家人了解这一点。”

　　Skilling also disputed reports that he had no remorse⁷ for his role in the fraud that drove the company to seek bankruptcy protection.

　　斯奇林也对他在导致公司破产的欺诈案中的所作所为毫无悔悟的报道进行反驳。

　　"I can tell you that's just the furthest thing from the truth," he said. "It's been very hard on me, but probably, more important, incredibly hard on my family, incredibly hard on employees of Enron Corp., incredibly hard on my friends and incredibly hard on the community.

　　“我只想说这与事实相去太远了，”他说。“对我来说，这一切难以置信。但也许对我的家人，安然公司的员工，我的朋友还有整个我生活的圈子来说更加难以置信。”

　　"And I want my friends, my family to know this."

　　“我希望我的朋友、我的家人了解这些。”

　　Skilling's second wife, former Enron corporate secretary Rebecca Carter, was in the courtroom.

　　斯奇林的第二任妻子，前安然公司秘书瑞内卡·卡特也出现在法庭上。

　　Skilling's apologetic tone didn't last long.

　　斯奇林的道歉并没有持续多长的时间。

　　Outside the courtroom later, he predicted he'll be vindicated²⁸ on appeal.

　　走出法庭后，他将上诉为自己辩白。

　　"The word 'Enron' conjures²⁹ up some really awful things," he said. "I don't fault the judge for what he did. I believe I'll be vindicated."

　　“‘安然’这个名称勾出了许多糟糕的事情，”他说。“我不是挑剔法官所作的一切。我相信我能证实我的清白。”

　　Skilling said he never considered striking a deal with prosecutors because he believed he had done nothing wrong.

　　斯奇林说他从来就没有想过与检察官达成任何诉辩交易因为他相信他没有错。

　　Skilling was convicted in May on 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors³⁰. He was acquitted³¹ on nine counts of insider trading.

　　斯奇林五月被判19项欺诈，共谋，涉嫌内线交易和向审计人员撒谎罪。其中9项关于内线交易的罪名不成立。

　　On Monday, Lake set investor³² loss tied to his actions at $80 million, which he relied on to set the sentence. With that figure, Skilling faced up to 30.4 years in prison.

　　星期一，莱克将投资者8000万美元的损失与他的行为联系起来作为判罪的依据。依据这一金额，斯奇林将面临30.4年的牢狱生涯。

　　Skilling also faces more than $18 million in fines for his crimes.

　　斯奇林同时还面临1800多万美元的罚金。

　　Victims unleashed³³ nearly five years of anger on Skilling Monday and begged Lake to send Skilling to prison for life.

　　受害者们星期一把他们5年以来的愤怒发泄到斯奇林身上，他们请求法官判处斯奇林终身监禁。

　　"Mr. Skilling has proven to be a liar³⁴, a thief and a drunk, flaunting³⁵ an attitude above the law," said 22-year Enron employee Dawn Powers Martin. "He has betrayed everyone who has trusted him. Shame on me for believing the management of Enron."

　　“斯奇林已经被证明是一个蔑视法律的骗子，贼和酒鬼，”22岁的安然员工道恩·鲍威尔·马丁说。“他背叛了所有相信他的人。想到我居然相信安然的高层管理者我就觉得丢人。”

　　Two chose not to vilify³⁶ Skilling, however.

　　然而，也有两个人并不愿诋毁思斯奇林。

　　"I can't state strongly enough, during 20 years, have I seen or heard anything that he was leading a massive conspiracy to mislead Enron shareholders³⁷ and employees," said one of them, Sherri Sera, a former administrative³⁸ assistant. She said she too had lost thousands in Enron stock and benefits but took blame for her own failure to diversify³⁹.

　　“我不能确信在这20多年以来，我曾经看到或听说过任何关于他主使了这一起误导股民和员工的惊天阴谋。”前安然的行政助理谢瑞·赛拉是其中一个。她表示她自己也损失了上千的安然股票但她把问题归咎于自己的投资缺乏多样性。

　　Former employee Diana Peters later called the sentence "just" but added, "I am extremely disappointed he wasn't taken into custody⁴⁰ today."

　　前员工戴安娜·皮特认为判决是“公正的”，但她接着说：“我觉得最大的遗憾是他怎么没有当天就收监。”

　　"The people who have been harmed by the bankruptcy have very strong feelings about the subject," Petrocelli said. "But that does not shed much light on the reasonableness of the sentence Mr. Skilling should receive."

　　“受到破产影响的人们对这一话题反应强烈，”帕特塞利说。“但这并不能表示斯奇林受到的判决就是理性的。”

　　Jurors decided⁴¹ Skilling and Lay repeatedly lied about Enron's financial health when they knew of accounting maneuvers⁴² that hid debt and inflated⁴³ profits.

　　陪审团断定当斯奇林和雷在了解如何利用会计作帐隐藏债务和夸大收益后，他们再三在安然的财务健康状况上撒谎。

　　Enron's crash and the subsequent scandals roiled⁴⁴ Wall Street and prompted stiffened⁴⁵ white collar penalties and upped regulatory scrutiny⁴⁶ over publicly traded companies.

　　安然的倒闭以及并发的丑闻震撼了华尔街，也促使了加大对白领犯罪的惩罚力度，同时也提高了对上市公司的审查力度。

　　Skilling maintained his innocence⁴⁷ before, during and even after his trial, insisting no fraud occurred at Enron other than that committed by a few executives skimming millions in secret side deals, and that bad press and poor market confidence combined to sink the company.

　　斯奇林以前一直声称自己是清白的，不管是在审讯中还是审讯后，他坚持认为安然内部没有欺诈行为，而是一些行政人员通过一些歪门邪道秘密攫取了上百万的资金，还有就是一些心存不轨的媒体和市场信心不足共同导致了公司的崩盘。

　　During his trial, Skilling listed his remaining assets as including a $5 million mansion⁴⁸ in Houston, a $350,000 condo in Dallas, a Mercedes Benz, two Land Rovers and nearly $50 million in stocks and bonds frozen by the government.

　　在审讯中，斯奇林列出了他现有的资产，包括休斯敦一座价值500万美元的豪宅，达拉斯一套35万美元的套房，一辆奔驰轿车，两辆路虎越野车和大约5000万被政府冻结的股票和证券资产。

　　Skilling, who was born in Pittsburgh and raised in New Jersey⁴⁹ and suburban⁵⁰ Chicago, spent 11 years at Enron. He has three children - aged⁵¹ 22, 20 and 16 - from his first marriage. He and Carter have no children.

　　斯奇林生于匹兹堡，在新泽西及芝加哥郊区长大。他在安然待了11年时间，和他的前妻有三个孩子，年龄分别为22岁、20岁和16岁。他和卡特没有孩子。

　　He took over as chief executive from Lay in February 2001 but abruptly⁵² quit six months later, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Prosecutors said he left Enron because he knew the company was on the brink⁵³ of bankruptcy.

　　在在2001年取代雷成为安然总裁，但在六个月后突然辞职，理由是想和家人分享更多的时间。检察官说他离开的原因是因为他知道公司已经处于破产的边沿

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