WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a former Merrill Lynch executive’s bid for a new trial on charges that he committed perjury and obstructed justice in a case about a suspicious 1999 Enron transaction.
Former Merrill asset lease group manager James A. Brown argued that prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that could have helped his defense. Mr. Brown was convicted on several charges in 2004, though an appeals court threw out some of those convictions. Only the perjury and obstruction convictions remain.
Prosecutors said Mr. Brown lied about the details of a deal between Enron and Merrill involving Nigerian electricity barges. Enron allegedly sold Merrill an interest in the barges but promised to buy back that interest later if no other buyer could be found. The government said the deal was a sham that allowed Enron to artificially inflate its earnings.
Mr. Brown said he did nothing wrong.
The criminal trial against several executives involved in the barge transaction was the first to emerge from Enron’s collapse.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Mr. Brown’s appeal without comment.
This is just infuriating. I’ll have more to say on this later today.
Anyone know for sure what Jeff Skilling’s next steps are?