A federal judge in Houston Friday was weighing a temporary restraining order request by Amalgamated Bank of New York that would freeze more than $1 billion allegedly gained by Enron Corp. executives and directors who allegedly deceived investors to boost the price of stock before selling millions of shares of the now bankrupt company in the past year.

Amalgamated, which claims it lost more than $10 million in Enron’s collapse, has sued 29 current and former Enron executives, including Chairman and CEO Kenneth L. Lay, alleging that Enron’s top echelon engaged in a three-year pattern of fraud and deception that led Enron’s share prices to fall. During that period, the lawsuit contends the executives and board members sold Enron stock then worth an estimated $1.1 billion, while they hid the true financial condition of the company. Between October 1998 and November 2001, Lay sold 1.8 million shares worth $101 million.

Included in the lawsuit are former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who resigned in August citing “personal reasons” and Andrew Fastow, former CFO, who managed many of the damaging related-party transactions, whose revelation propelled Enron’s fall. Between October 1998 and November 2001, Skilling sold 1.1 million shares worth $66.9 million while Fastow sold 561,423 shares worth an estimated $30.4 million.

The court also will hear Amalgamated’s request for unusual “expedited discovery” powers to open personal records of the 29 defendants to reveal the extent of additional liquidations and limited partnerships not currently made public.

“Enron is a grotesque fraud — a financial monstrosity of manipulation and falsification,” according to Amalgamated’s lawsuit. “As a result, thousands of investors have been cheated out of billions of dollars and countless lives and retirements have been destroyed.” Amalgamated, which is seeking damages of $25 billion, is represented by San Diego-based Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP.

Serving as directors are Robert A. Belfer, chairman and CEO of Belco Oil & Gas Corp.; Norman P. Blake Jr., president and CEO of Comdisco Inc.; Ronnie C. Chan, chairman of Hang Lung Group; John H. Duncan, investments and also director of EOTT Energy Corp.; Wendy L. Gramm, economist and director of regulatory studies program of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University; Robert K. Jaedicke, professor emeritus of accounting at Stanford University Graduate School of Business; Charles A. LeMaistre, president emeritus of University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; John Mendelsohn, president of University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Paulo V. Pereira, executive vice president of Group Bozano; William Powers Jr., holds John Jeffers Research Chair in Law at University of Texas School of Law; Frank Savage, chairman of Alliance Capital Management International; Raymond S. Troubh, financial consultant, New York City; John Wakeham, former U.K. secretary of state for energy and leader of the House of Commons and Lords; and Herbert S. Winokur Jr., chairman and CEO, Capricorn Holdings Inc.

Directors selling stock between October 1998 and November 2001 included Belfer, 1 million shares, $51 million; Duncan, 35,000 shares, $2 million; Blake, 21,200 shares, $1.7 million; Joe H. Foy, 31,320 shares, $1.6 million; Jaedicke, who also serves on audit committee, 13,360 shares, $841,438; Chan, who serves on audit committee, 8,000 shares, $337,200; and Gramm, who serves on audit committee, 10,256 shares, $276,912.

These current and former Enron officers and directors also sold Enron stock between October 1998 and November 2001: CFO Jeff McMahon, 39,630 shares, $2.7 million; Lou L. Pai, CEO, Enron Accelerator, five million shares, $353 million; Kenneth D. Rice, CEO Enron Broadband Services, 1.1 million shares, $72.7 million; Rebecca Mark, vice chair and director, 1.4 million shares, $79.5 million; Ken Harrison, director and former CEO, Portland General Electric, 1 million shares, $75.2 million; Mark A. Frevert, CEO, Enron Wholesale Services and vice chairman, 830,620 shares, $50.2 million; Stanley C. Horton, CEO, Enron Transportation Services, 734,444 shares, $45.4 million; Joseph. W. Sutton, vice chairman, 614,960 shares, $40 million; Clifford Baxter, vice chairman, 577,436 shares, $35.2 million; Joseph M. Hirko, CEO, Enron Broadband, 473,837 shares, $35.1 million; Richard A. Causey, CAO, 197,485 shares, $13.3 million; James V. Derrick, general counsel, 230,660 shares, $12.6 million; Mark E. Koenig, vice president, 129,153 shares, $9.1 million; Cindy K. Olson, vice president, 83,183 shares, $6.5 million; Steven J. Kean, former director, 64,932 shares, $5.1 million; Richard B. Buy, chief risk officer, 54,874 shares, $4.3 million; Michael S. McConnell, president, Enron Global Markets, 30,960 shares, $2.3 million; and J. Mark Metts, vice president, 17,711 shares, $1.4 million.

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