Excerpt:
Background
The scandal revolved around Houston banker and insurance company manager Frank Sharp and his companies, the Sharpstown State Bank and the National Bankers Life Insurance Corporation. Sharp granted US $600,000 in loans from his bank to state officials who would, in turn, purchase stock in National Bankers Life, to be resold later at a huge profit, after Sharp artificially inflated the company's value. One of the victims of the scandal, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, lost $6,000,000 following the advice of Sharp. The school bought the resold stock at $20–26 a share.[1] Using the stock as encouragement, Sharp pushed for legislation that would benefit National Bankers Life, increasing the value of the company to its investors; the very people who would push the legislation through.
The scheme succeeded in generating profits for the investors on the order of a quarter of a million dollars, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stepped in early in 1971, filing criminal and civil charges against former state attorney general Waggoner Carr, former state insurance commissioner John Osorio, Frank Sharp, and a number of others. By the middle of 1971, anyone in the state government who might be connected to Sharp was heavily pressured politically. Allegations of bribery to push the favorable bills through the government spread to House Speaker Gus Mutscher, Jr., State Representative Tommy Shannon, state Democratic chairman, state banking board member Elmer Baum, Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes and even Governor Preston Smith.
[edit] The "Dirty Thirty"
"Dirty Thirty" was the name given to thirty members of the 1971 Texas House of Representatives who grouped against Texas Speaker of the House Gus Mutscher and other Texas officials charged in the Sharpstown scandal. The coalition of thirty Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, has been given credit for keeping the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal alive as a political issue.[2]http://www.topix.com/forum/city/weatherford-tx/TU6KO60OCF2OPUVU1
Excerpt:
Parker Co GOP Chair Zan Prince's Uncle is Frank Sharp...as in Sharpstown Scandal
http://parkercountyblog.com/2011/05/05/the-tea-party-patriots-of-parker-county-the-only-legimate-tea-party-in-parker-county/
Excerpt:
“The TEA Party Patriots of Parker County” – the only legimate TEA Party in Parker County
Dawn King
Ms. Zan Prince, the Chairman of the Parker County Republican Party, on May 2, contacted me by email, alerting me that I was not the organizer for the “Parker County Tea Party”. I had no idea what she meant, now I know…
Though the “Tea Party” name is not exclusive for anyone to use, she has apparently filed a Political Action Committee (PAC) with the State Ethics Commission using our previous name of “Parker County TEA Party”. Also she has filed a PAC using the name “Weatherford Tea Party”. Whatever her reason(s) are I do not know, but I can speculate and I’m sure you can too.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/wmdsh
Excerpt:
DIRTY THIRTY
DIRTY THIRTY. "Dirty Thirty" was the name given to thirty members of the 1971 Texas House of Representatives who grouped against Speaker of the House Gus Mutscher and other Texas officials charged in a bribery-conspiracy investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The coalition of thirty Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, has been given credit for keeping the Sharpstown Stock Fraud Scandalqv alive as a political issue. One member called for a resolution to make Mutscher and his associates resign from leadership positions while the SEC investigation continued, but Mutscher was still favored by a majority in the House, and the measure failed. Another resolution, for the House to make itself a committee of the whole to study the SEC allegation, also failed. The criticism by the Dirty Thirty of Mutscher's system of controlling legislation led him, finally, to agree to an investigation. But he appointed five of his closest House allies, all chairmen of other committees he had appointed, to do the job. This blatant use of appointive power to clear himself actually helped the Dirty Thirty's cause. On the next-to-last day of the session, Mutscher attacked the group, accusing them of irresponsible and partisan politics. In return the group called Mutscher a dictator of state politics, more concerned with private than public interests. This began the electoral battle, which Mutscher lost.
In September 1971 a Travis County grand jury indicted Mutscher and two colleagues for conspiracy to accept a bribe and accepting a bribe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/world/europe/06iht-web-profile6.5587903.html
Excerpt:
Sarkozy was the middle of three sons, but his father left the family when Sarkozy was 4, marrying twice more and fathering two more children. (The mother of those children, Christine de Ganay, went on to marry Frank Wisner II, the son of a celebrated spy and now U.S. special envoy to Kosovo. Her son, Sarkozy's half-brother, Oliver Sarkozy, is Joint Global Head of UBS Investment Bank's Financial Institutions Group in New York.)
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Frank_Wisner
Excerpt:
"On 28 October 1997, Enron Corporation announced the entry of Frank G. Wisner Jr. onto its board of directors. Most of the business press did not find this untoward and it certainly did not emerge as part of the US discussions on corruption at the highest level. Frank Wisner, as we know in India, was the US Ambassador from 1994 until this year and his entry into Enron must be seen in light of the scandal of Dabhol. Enron, like most US corporations, uses its close association with the state (both its elected and bureaucratic arms) for its own ends. US campaigns are financed by corporations whose money not only enables politicians to win elections, but it also buys businesses the state's power both for domestic subsidies and for the use of US power in the international arena.
"When Wisner was US Ambassador to the Philippines (1991-92), Enron was in the midst of negotiations to manage the two Subic Bay power plants. When Wisner left Manila in July 1992, Enron won the deal and began to manage the plant in January 1993. During Wisner tenure in India, he fought long and hard to secure various deals for Enron. He went so far as to boycott the 'India Power '96 -- Beyond Dabhol' summit, despite being scheduled to give an address (this was part of a US advisory to companies to avoid India for six-months, a pressure tactic on India during the winter of 1995-96). Wisner left India earlier this year only after it seemed like Enron's place was secure."
Source: Vijay Prashad, "The Power Elite: Enron and Frank Wisner," circa 2000. See remainder of lengthy article.
In September 1971 a Travis County grand jury indicted Mutscher and two colleagues for conspiracy to accept a bribe and accepting a bribe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/world/europe/06iht-web-profile6.5587903.html
Excerpt:
Sarkozy was the middle of three sons, but his father left the family when Sarkozy was 4, marrying twice more and fathering two more children. (The mother of those children, Christine de Ganay, went on to marry Frank Wisner II, the son of a celebrated spy and now U.S. special envoy to Kosovo. Her son, Sarkozy's half-brother, Oliver Sarkozy, is Joint Global Head of UBS Investment Bank's Financial Institutions Group in New York.)
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Frank_Wisner
Excerpt:
"On 28 October 1997, Enron Corporation announced the entry of Frank G. Wisner Jr. onto its board of directors. Most of the business press did not find this untoward and it certainly did not emerge as part of the US discussions on corruption at the highest level. Frank Wisner, as we know in India, was the US Ambassador from 1994 until this year and his entry into Enron must be seen in light of the scandal of Dabhol. Enron, like most US corporations, uses its close association with the state (both its elected and bureaucratic arms) for its own ends. US campaigns are financed by corporations whose money not only enables politicians to win elections, but it also buys businesses the state's power both for domestic subsidies and for the use of US power in the international arena.
Frank G. Wisner, Sr.
"Frank Wisner, Jr. was a big catch for Enron Corporation. His lineage is impeccable, since his father, Frank Wisner Sr., was a senior CIA official (from 1947 until his suicide in 1965) who was involved in the overthrow of Arbenz of Guatemala (1954) and Mossadeq of Iran (1953). Wisner Junior was well-known in the CIA and he worked as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs; his current boss, Kenneth L. Lay, Chief Executive Officer of Enron Corporation, also worked for the Pentagon during the US war in Vietnam. With 'economic espionage' as a task for the CIA (see PD, 12 October 1997), there is little doubt that Wisner used this instrument during his long-tenure as Ambassador in Asian nations. A Wisner staffer told InterPress Services this year that 'if anybody asked the CIA to help promote US business in India, it was probably Frank'."When Wisner was US Ambassador to the Philippines (1991-92), Enron was in the midst of negotiations to manage the two Subic Bay power plants. When Wisner left Manila in July 1992, Enron won the deal and began to manage the plant in January 1993. During Wisner tenure in India, he fought long and hard to secure various deals for Enron. He went so far as to boycott the 'India Power '96 -- Beyond Dabhol' summit, despite being scheduled to give an address (this was part of a US advisory to companies to avoid India for six-months, a pressure tactic on India during the winter of 1995-96). Wisner left India earlier this year only after it seemed like Enron's place was secure."
Source: Vijay Prashad, "The Power Elite: Enron and Frank Wisner," circa 2000. See remainder of lengthy article.
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20658.htm
Excerpt:
SEC Charges Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enron Energy Services with Insider Trading
Lou Pai Agrees to Pay $31.5 Million in Disgorgement, Prejudgment Interest, and Civil Money Penalties, and is Barred From Serving as an Officer or Director of a Public Company for Five Years
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a civil action against Lou L. Pai, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enron Energy Services ("EES"), a division of Enron Corp. ("Enron"). The Commission's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleges that Pai sold Enron stock in May and June 2001 on the basis of material, nonpublic information concerning Enron. Pai simultaneously settled the action without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission's complaint.According to the Commission's complaint, shortly before his departure from Enron, between May 18, 2001 and June 7, 2001, Pai sold 338,897 shares of Enron stock and exercised stock options that resulted in the sale of 572,818 shares to the open market - yielding millions of dollars in proceeds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron:_The_Smartest_Guys_in_the_Room
Excerpt:
Lou Pai, the CEO of Enron Energy Services. Pai was notorious for using shareholder money to feed his obsessive habit of visiting strip clubs, and for allegedly inviting strippers into his office and the Enron trading floor. Pai abruptly resigned from EES with $250 million, soon after selling his stock. Despite the amount of money Pai had made, the divisions he formerly ran lost $1 billion, a fact covered up by Enron. Pai used his money to buy a large ranch in Colorado, becoming the second-largest landowner in the state.
http://freepress.org/journal.php?strFunc=display&strID=54&strJournal=10
Excerpt:
The Nation had previously reported that, in late 1988, the then-president-elect’s son allegedly called Argentine cabinet minister Rodolfo Terragno to urge him to award a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Enron. Bush angrily denied the accusation when it was published in 1994, but Terragno recently stood by his claim in a commentary published in an Argentine daily newspaper.
“It looked bad and it surprised me,” Terragno said. “There was this political endorsement, apparently from the White House. I don’t know if George Bush the father was aware of it, or if it was only a business contact by his son, who hoped that his family name would have some influence.”
So, it should come as no surprise that Enron’s name has now surfaced as a major potential beneficiary of the proposed Afghanistan oil-and-gas pipeline the Bush administration purportedly pushed for during secret negotiations with the Taliban that started shortly after Bush took office and continued through August.
http://www.thenation.com/article/how-enron-did-texas
Excerpt:
In the spring of 1991 Texas State Representative Kevin Bailey killed an Enron bill. The freshman Democrat from Houston had been advised by his veteran campaign manager to play ball with the company, which at that point was still just a natural-gas-pipeline concern. But Bailey didn't listen, and it very nearly ended his career. In 1992 he found himself in a primary fight against an Enron-recruited candidate, who promptly used Enron cash to hire away Bailey's own campaign manager. When Bailey narrowly won that contest, Enron tried to unseat him again in 1994. Bailey survived, but he was chastened. Even then, "Ken Lay had a lot of influence," he said. "People were afraid to mess with him, because they always knew he'd try to get you." In subsequent years, Enron grew steadily more powerful in Texas. The company rose in tandem with the state Republican Party, which has been lavishly bankrolled by Enron executives and PACs. By 1999, when the Republicans, led by George W. Bush, swept every statewide Democratic official out of office and seized control of the State Senate for the first time since Reconstruction, Enron was sitting at the top of the heap, the king of the lobby.
That was the year Enron pushed its holy grail, deregulation of retail electricity, through the Texas legislature. Through its joint venture, the New Power Company, Enron stood to make a bundle when competition officially began in January of this year--if only the company were around to see it. Instead, Lay and his wife are fighting for liquidity, and the state's top Republican officials are heading into an election year with a Texas-size albatross around their necks. Governor Rick Perry has taken more than $227,075 from the company, including a $25,000 check from Ken Lay delivered the day after Perry appointed a former Enron executive, Max Yzaguirre, to head the Texas Public Utility Commission. Yzaguirre resigned under pressure on January 18, but Perry says he will not be returning the money. Neither will Republican Attorney General John Cornyn, who has received $193,000 from Enron. Cornyn recused himself from the state's investigation of the meltdown, though so far there has been little activity on that front. State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, the elected official who oversees the collection of taxes from companies like Enron, has received $63,000 in contributions. Enron is also the largest corporate contributor to the current membership of the Texas Supreme Court, whose justices are elected in expensive partisan races and where some portion of the coming Enron litigation may very well wind up.
Already some veteran politicos are invoking the dreaded name of Sharpstown, the Texas banking scandal of the early 1970s. In the wake of that disaster, voters replaced virtually every incumbent statewide elected official, as well as half the sitting legislators. As the current election season gets under way, each new revelation in the morning paper has campaign consultants scrambling to uncover who got what from Enron over the past decade, and what Enron got in return.
In Houston, Enron's money went to art museums, opera houses and hospitals; in Austin, it went to politicians. "Lay and the big executives were absolutely everywhere in political circles," Democratic lobbyist Patrick Woodson said. "I mean, Enron's influence was just enormous." For the better part of a decade, Enron applied that influence with single-minded purpose toward one goal: cracking open the lock that the state's investor-owned utilities, principally Texas Utilities and Houston Lighting and Power, had on retail electricity sales--and on Texas politics.
http://www.clipperwind.com/james_gp_dehlsen.html
Excerpt:
Executive Staff
James G.P. Dehlsen, Chairman and CEO
Mr. Dehlsen founded Zond Corporation in 1980 and served as Chairman of the Board until its partial acquisition in 1997 by Enron Corporation.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5401264_history-enron.html
Excerpt:
That was the year Enron pushed its holy grail, deregulation of retail electricity, through the Texas legislature. Through its joint venture, the New Power Company, Enron stood to make a bundle when competition officially began in January of this year--if only the company were around to see it. Instead, Lay and his wife are fighting for liquidity, and the state's top Republican officials are heading into an election year with a Texas-size albatross around their necks. Governor Rick Perry has taken more than $227,075 from the company, including a $25,000 check from Ken Lay delivered the day after Perry appointed a former Enron executive, Max Yzaguirre, to head the Texas Public Utility Commission. Yzaguirre resigned under pressure on January 18, but Perry says he will not be returning the money. Neither will Republican Attorney General John Cornyn, who has received $193,000 from Enron. Cornyn recused himself from the state's investigation of the meltdown, though so far there has been little activity on that front. State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, the elected official who oversees the collection of taxes from companies like Enron, has received $63,000 in contributions. Enron is also the largest corporate contributor to the current membership of the Texas Supreme Court, whose justices are elected in expensive partisan races and where some portion of the coming Enron litigation may very well wind up.
Already some veteran politicos are invoking the dreaded name of Sharpstown, the Texas banking scandal of the early 1970s. In the wake of that disaster, voters replaced virtually every incumbent statewide elected official, as well as half the sitting legislators. As the current election season gets under way, each new revelation in the morning paper has campaign consultants scrambling to uncover who got what from Enron over the past decade, and what Enron got in return.
In Houston, Enron's money went to art museums, opera houses and hospitals; in Austin, it went to politicians. "Lay and the big executives were absolutely everywhere in political circles," Democratic lobbyist Patrick Woodson said. "I mean, Enron's influence was just enormous." For the better part of a decade, Enron applied that influence with single-minded purpose toward one goal: cracking open the lock that the state's investor-owned utilities, principally Texas Utilities and Houston Lighting and Power, had on retail electricity sales--and on Texas politics.
http://www.clipperwind.com/james_gp_dehlsen.html
Excerpt:
Executive Staff
James G.P. Dehlsen, Chairman and CEO
Mr. Dehlsen founded Zond Corporation in 1980 and served as Chairman of the Board until its partial acquisition in 1997 by Enron Corporation.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5401264_history-enron.html
Excerpt:
Origins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Natural_Gas
Excerpt:
Houston Natural Gas Company (HNG) was a gas utility headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company was acquired by InterNorth Inc. in 1985, with HNG executives taking top positions at InterNorth. Following the transaction, InterNorth was renamed Enron Corporation, and the company headquarters was moved from InterNorth's base in Omaha to the former HNG offices in Houston.
Excerpt:
Houston Natural Gas Company (HNG) was a gas utility headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company was acquired by InterNorth Inc. in 1985, with HNG executives taking top positions at InterNorth. Following the transaction, InterNorth was renamed Enron Corporation, and the company headquarters was moved from InterNorth's base in Omaha to the former HNG offices in Houston.
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