Five guilty in first Enron trial

HOUSTON — A jury convicted four former Merrill Lynch & Co. executives and a former midlevel Enron Corp. finance executive of conspiracy and fraud Wednesday in the first criminal trial to emerge from Enron’s 2001 collapse.

The deal involved a bogus sale of interest in power plants mounted on barges to the brokerage at the end of 1999 so the company could appear to have met earnings targets.

A sixth defendant, a former in-house Enron accountant, was acquitted. Sheila Kahanek testified she consistently opposed a verbal promise that the government contended made the deal a loan — that Enron would resell or buy back Merrill’s interest within six months.

Those convicted of conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud were: Daniel Bayly, Merrill’s former head of investment banking; James A. Brown, former head of Merrill’s asset lease and finance group; William Fuhs, a vice president who reported to Brown; Robert S. Furst, a former manager of Merrill’s relationship with Enron; and Dan O. Boyle, a former Enron finance executive.

The verdict came after 21 hours of deliberations that began at the close of six weeks of testimony. The jury was instructed to return Thursday for the sentencing phase of the trial.