Extra Cash? Please send . . .

by Kathryn Casey

Okay, we need to pass the plate for Linda Lay, widow of the Enron debacle’s chief crook, Ken. This is the Ken Lay who was convicted but then had the audacity to die before he even started serving his sentence. Since he had no time to appeal (Laws are convoluted at times, don’t ya think?), the conviction was set aside. At the center of the current controversy is the family high-rise, Linda’s home sweet home, and some of the most expensive real estate in Houston, Texas.

What’s that old theme song? You know, the one from "The Jeffersons"? Sing it with me: We’re moving on up, to the big time, to a deluxe apartment in the skyyyyyyyy. . . .

Well, that’s what the Lays did during the flush Enron years, when Ken’s ill-gotten gains flooded in like a tropical storm and Space City was their playground. Linda and Ken, then darlings of the social set, bought a condo on the 33rd floor of the tony Huntingdon (pictured above), with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, three half-baths, and four fireplaces now valued at $4.75 million. Linda’s current dilemma is that first the government filed suit on the estate for $13 million, including the condo. Now, alas, there’s also the little matter of more than $100,000 in unpaid condo fees. To add to the widow Lay’s problems, the condo board has also filed suit, threatening to take away her 12,827-square-foot abode.

Now is that fair?

Of course, this is the same woman who appeared on national television early in the Enron catastrophe crying: “We’ve lost it all.” At the time, we later learned, the Lays owned dozens of homes all over the country and the world. I’ve got the feeling that Linda’s definition of being hard up doesn’t quite mesh with regular families’ budget woes?

So start passing that plate. Linda Lay needs help! I’ll donate, as soon as I find a couple million extra I don’t need for house payment or groceries.

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