Is Ken Lay a Victim Too?

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The Lays' claim that they are nearly as bankrupt as Enron is not winning them much trust or sympathy in Houston--or in Washington. Ken Lay now holds close to 3 million essentially worthless Enron shares, but he got most of his money by selling Enron stock early, reaping more than $100 million over the past three years. During that same period, he received salary and cash bonuses of more than $17 million. Last year alone he unloaded $25.7 million in Enron stock between January and mid-July as the share price fell from $80 to less than $50. And at the end of 2001, according to public records, he owned stock that today is worth more than $11 million in companies for which he was either an officer or director, including Compaq, Eli Lilly and a bevy of start-ups.

The Lays own at least 20 properties in Colorado and Texas. These include their principal home--a five-bedroom high-rise condo in Houston that's worth at least $8 million--as well as rental properties from Houston to Galveston that are worth an additional $4.5 million. The Lays are selling all their Aspen, Colo., properties, including a 4,537-sq.-ft. log cabin and a four-bedroom riverfront house, together worth about $20 million.

What's unclear is how much debt the Lays have. Lay and his lawyers declined to discuss that issue or answer other questions put to them by TIME. Last year Lay sold millions of dollars of Enron stock back to the company to repay some loans. It was not illegal, but it's a maneuver that makes it harder to track insider selling; instead of disposing of stock on the open market and having to declare it publicly soon afterward, Lay did not have to report it until 45 days after the end of the fiscal year.

It was just that penchant for secrecy that got Enron in trouble in the first place. But as FBI agents and 10 congressional committees and subcommittees probe the scandal, it's only a matter of time before someone breaks the code. And when they do, Ken Lay may well have to deal with an even less sympathetic audience.