HOUSTON, May 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. government's circle around former top Enron officials has tightened with a one-time corporate secretary agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.
Paula Rieker, who also was Enron's top investor relations official, is expected to agree to settle charges filed against her by the Securities and Exchange Commission and help federal prosecutors in their wide-ranging investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
She apparently has agreed to settle SEC charges of insider trading and making false statements with the agency. Rieker is also expected to plead guilty to criminal charges as part of her deal with prosecutors.
The development advances prosecutors' move up the Houston energy giant's corporate ladder. They are hoping Rieker will help them nail other former Enron executives, including Jeffrey Skilling, former company president and chief executive, and Richard Causey, former chief accounting officer.
She also could be helpful in the government's continuing criminal probe of former Chairman Kenneth Lay.
