May 25

　　Ken Lay took the news of his guilt on all six counts of fraud and conspiracy stoically Thursday, sitting with his family, not with his attorneys. His wife, Linda, dabbed her eyes and hugged her husband while daughter Elizabeth Vittor, an attorney herself, sobbed so much her body shook. All the emotion of the moment was understandable. The 64-year-old founder of Enron, the high-flying energy company that once fancied itself as a trader of everything from water to wine, now faces the prospect of 45 years in prison — in other words, the rest of his life. Before leaving the U.S. District Courthouse after the verdict, he had to surrender his passport and his children had to sign a bond waiving rights to their property.

　　Outside the courtroom, there was little sympathy for the son of a Baptist preacher who created a business dynamo that crashed in late 2001, or for his protege, Jeffrey Skilling, 52, who himself faces 185 years for his 19 out of 28 guilty counts — including conspiracy, securities and wire fraud.