Letter: Lays deploy golden parachute

Thursday, June 6, 2002 | 9:09 a.m.

I read with just a bit of cynicism that Linda Lay, the wife of deposed CEO Enron exec Kenneth Lay, just opened an upscale "thrift" shop on the outskirts of Houston.

Claiming "poverty," the Lays have been dumping their spoils from the Enron debacle for several months now, in anticipation of hungry creditors banging at their mansion's doors.

True, the laid-off -- read "Layed-off" -- former Enron employees can stage their own garage sales and sell personal possessions to pay their mortgages and utility bills, while the Lays get to sell their extravagant furnishings in a fancy shop. Talk about your golden parachute!

Her shop, aptly named "Jus' Stuff," may attract several curiosity seekers to buy an overpriced bauble -- a historic memento of the most glaring example of corporate greed in the United States.

I do anticipate Mrs. Lay will employ security guards as "Jus' Stuff" may very well receive unwanted inventory -- perhaps "Jus' a rock through the window"?

BARBARA JANNATPOUR

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