Aug. 23, 2010

DISMISSAL IN WITTIG CASE TIED TO SUPREME COURT RULING

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Supreme Court ruling in the Enron Corp. case left federal prosecutors in Kansas with little choice but to dismiss federal charges against former Westar executives David Wittig and Douglas Lake, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

“The law no longer supported our position,” Grissom said, “We were duty bound not to go forward with the prosecution.”

Federal prosecutors in Kansas consulted with their colleagues at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., to evaluate the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Jeffrey Skilling. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that the honest services component of the federal fraud statute requires prosecutors to prove defendants received bribes or kickbacks.

“A great deal of consideration was given to this decision,” Grissom said, “both here and in Washington.”