Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling reportedly was taken to a New York hospital last Friday after several people told police he was pulling on their clothes and accusing them of being FBI agents. However, the account was disputed by Skilling’s attorneys, who claim that he and his wife called police after they were assaulted by two people.

Paul Brown, deputy commissioner for public information at the New York Police Department, reported last week that, “Skilling was acting erratically, and he was taken into custody.” He said police took Skilling to New York Presbyterian Hospital for observation after finding him about 4 a.m. Friday morning on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The police, said Brown, determined that Skilling “might be emotionally disturbed.”

Skilling was not charged with any crime, and he was released later on Friday, police said.

Bruce Hiler, one of Skilling’s attorneys, disputed the police account. He denied a report by police that Skilling visited two Manhattan bars, and said that Skilling’s wife also disputed the account. Another attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said Skilling and his wife were in New York to attend a concert for one of his children when two men accosted him and began “aggressively questioning him about Enron.”

Skilling, 50, was charged in mid-February with 35 counts of conspiracy, fraud, insider trading and lying about Enron’s finances (see Daily GPI, Feb. 20). He resigned as CEO in August 2001.

©Copyright 2004 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.