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CNN Sunday Morning

Enron Searches For New CEO

Aired January 27, 2002 - 11:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Enron may have a front runner, as it searches for a new CEO. The embattled company is looking for a leader, as it deals with the mountains of lawsuits and investigations stemming from its collapse.

Our Fred Katayama joins us live now from Houston, Texas with the latest -- hi there, Fred.

FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka. Well, Enron is closer to ending its search for a new chief executive to replace Ken Lay. A source close to the search, familiar with the search, tells CNN that the board of directors met yesterday, and they narrowed their list of candidates down to two. The front runner, the source says, is Steven Cooper (ph). He is a bankruptcy reorganization specialist at a New York consulting firm. He had also served as vice chairman of Laidlaw, the Canadian transportation company that owns Greyhound. That's also in Chapter 11 proceedings like Enron. The source says expect an announcement within about three or four days.

Now, separately, the Medical Examiner's office says it finished its autopsy, and the autopsy found that J. Clifford Baxter had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The coroner also concluded that there were no signs of foul play. Now, despite the ruling, local police here say they are still continuing their investigation.

Baxter, the former vice chairman of Enron, was found dead early Friday morning in a parked car near his home in Sugerland, a suburb of Houston. Also found in the car was a 38-caliber revolver. Now, police also found a suicide note, but police still aren't disclosing where they found it, nor are they disclosing its contents.

Friends of Baxter, whom I spoke to, said they found that he was recently a bit disappointed, depressed and concerned over the collapse of Enron. They noted that he used to sport a head of salt-and-pepper gray hair, but that it had turned white completely within the last month. They also noted that perhaps that showed signs of stress.

What we do know is that he had been subpoenaed by two congressional committees. He was also named in a shareholder lawsuit. The lawsuit contended that he had sold 577,000 shares, raising more than $35 million. Baxter was also cited in a whistleblower memo, and that memo said that he had sharply criticized Enron's accounting practices that eventually led to the collapse of the company. A source tells CNN that funeral services for Baxter will be held in Amityville, Long Island, just outside New York City, where Baxter was raised -- Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, Fred.

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