HOUSTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Prosecutors want to move up the Houston trial date of former Enron chairman Ken Lay on personal banking fraud charges.
Lay is expected in court in January 2006 with two other former Enron officials to face fraud charges related to Enron, but prosecutors want the smaller case to be heard in May or June of this year, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.
Mike Ramsey, Lay's lawyer, called the request "intriguing," but said he would study it further before offering a response.
Lay, ex-Chief Executive Officer Jeff Skilling and former Chief Accountant Rick Causey all face charges in the Enron collapse. Lay also faces four personal bank fraud charges that allege he lied to banks about how he would use $75 million in loans.
Andrew Weissman, Enron task force director, argued Lay has repeatedly in the past sought a speedy trial. In March, however, Lay abandoned those requests and asked that the bank charges be tried after the Enron fraud trial.
