Enron's accountant gets 5.5 years

HOUSTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A Houston federal judge sentenced Enron Corp.'s former chief accountant to 5.5 years behind bars for his role in the scam that killed the company.

Richard A. Causey, 46, pleaded guilty to a single count of securities fraud in December,. Causey, a former Arthur Andersen LLP employee, also must serve two years of probation the Washington Post said Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Simeon T. Lake III could have sentenced Causey to as many as seven years behind bars but trimmed the sentence because Causey helped prosecutors develop their cases against Ken Lay, Enron's chairman, and Jeff Skilling, Enron's chief executive.

Enron's collapse in 2001 wiped out about $2 billion in market value and trashed the pensions of thousands of families.