1675-6 Roney W W W.HERALD.COM TUESDC
BUSINESS BRIEFS CORPORATE JUSTICE
Wife of past Enron CI
Online sales top
100 million at iTuneschecksInto
prl
From Herald Wire Services
Apple Computer reached a major milestone with the ■The wife of former Enron wanted to get it going,"lawyer the couple wanted to avoid fest enclave
announcement Monday that it had sold more than 100 million finance chief Andrew Mike DeGeurin said. simultaneous prison terms. to a grocer
songs from its iTunes Music Store. Fastow reports to prison Andrew Fastow did not That should be possible fortune am
The news solidifies Apple's place as the leading legal for a yearlong sentence on accompany his wife of 19 because he is expected to be a city's most•
music download site. a misdemeanor tax crime. years, instead staying home key witness in the pending families.
with the couple's two grade- case against Skilling,Lay and But at th
"iTunes quickly outpaced the competition and is far and BY KRISTEN HAYS school-age sons, DeGeurin former top accountant Rich- sharing an
away the world's No.1 online music service,"said Steve Jobs, Associated Press said.She was accompanied by and Causey. That case is cell in a grl
Apple's CEO. HOUSTON—Lea Fastow, her father, jack Weingarten, expected to require months of where the
The iTunes Music Store in the the United States offers who was born into Houston's and her brother and sister. preparation followed by outside is d
over 700,000 songs that can be downloaded for personal use monied elite and became half Lea Fastow, 42, pleaded months of testimony, and no on the roc
of Enron Corp.'s power cou- guilty in May to helping her trial date has been set. prepare foo
at a cost of 99 cents each.Users can play the songs on up to
five personal computers or an unlimited number of iPods. ple, on Monday became husband hide ill-gotten Lea Fastow's lawyers had less than 50
The 100 millionth song,"Somersault(Dangermouse inmate No.20290-179 in a fed- income from financial asked the judge to recommend Lea Fast(
remix)"by Zero7 was purchased on Sunday by Kevin Britten eral prison a mile from the dis- schemes that fueled Enron's the Federal Bureau of Prisons treasurer as
graced company's former December 2001 crash. place her at a minimum-secu- 1997 to foci
of Hays,Kansas.Britten will receive a PowerBook computer, headquarters. Andrew Fastow pleaded rity camp for women in Bryan, Her husban
iPod and a gift certificate for 10,000 iTunes songs. The wife of former Enron guilty in January to two counts about 90 miles northwest of financial of
Apple also launched the iTunes Music Store last month in j finance chief Andrew Fastow of conspiracy. He faces up to Houston. But U.S. District Lea Fas
Britain,France and Germany. checked into the 11-story Fed- 10 years in prison once pros- Judge David Hittner refused to last year or
eral Detention Center nearly ecutors no longer need his recommend a specific institu- conspiracy
six hours before her deadline cooperation to pursue other tion, and the prisons bureau that occur
•FTC •DRUGS to begin her yearlong sentence defendants,including his one- placed her at the detention Enron. Hei
ASSETS FROZEN SALES OF STENTS for a misdemeanor tax crime. time bosses, former Enron center,about four miles from had been
AT SEVEN COMPANIES DECLINE AT CORDIS She did not display emotion. Chairman Kenneth Lay and the Fastows'affluent home. grew to 98
"She knows she was due former CEO Jeffrey Skilling. Lea Fastow grew up in acy,fraud,i
A federal district court in Johnson&Johnson Chief here at 2 o'clock, and she Because of their two sons, River Oaks,Houston's wealth- other chug
Tennessee has appointed a Executive Officer William
temporary receiver and fro- C.Weldon may report the
zen the assets of seven corn- slowest quarterly sales
panies,including three growth in two years tomor- REAL ESTATE FORT LJ
based in Orlando,that were row after the company lost
involved in marketing illegal business for drug-coated
schemes opportunity heart stents to Boston Scien- off Sec
schemes to sell telephone tific Corp.
$ 5M hRoney?calling cards and public Second-quarter revenue
access Internet terminals. probably rose 11 percent, COR
According to a Federal compared with increases of Trade Commission corn- 18 percent and 20 percent in
Group: We'll plaint,the prices for these the preceding two quarters, take it
business opportunities ven- according to an average of ! 1,
tures ranged from$12,995 to analyst estimates compiled 111 ai'
■A New York investor as well as the ownership'liq- sion into a mix of hotel rooms
$249,950.The sales began in by Thomson Financial. group has secured a deal uidation plan,paving the way and condominiums on Col-
August 2001.The FTC corn- U.S.sales of Johnson& r I riva
plaints said the companies Johnson's Cypher coated i to buy The Roney Palace to end months of Chapter 11 lips Avenue between 23rd
selling these ventures mis- stent,which come out of out of bankruptcy but not protection for The Roney. and 24th streets.
I before getting a$5 million The morning session of the
represented the returns Cordis in Miami Lakes,were discount on the Miami hearing offered new details of FAR-FLUNG PARTNERS
II
these businesses could pro- about 30 percent below the ` Beach hotel/condo- The Roney's path to bank- The owners, a group of ' Lauderdah
vide as well as the support, fust-quarter's$432 million, [ minium complex. ruptcy and some of its inter- partnerships primarily from security ca
marketing and training pur- according to Merrill Lynch nal financial disputes. Canada and Italy, disagreed an unsolici
chasers would receive. &Co.'s Dan Lemaitre. I BY DOUGLAS HANKS III Amongthe debts to be sat- over whether to continue the
In an effort to market Jose,Secue
Calif..
dhanks aherald.com Jose
isfied from the sales proceeds conversion into time shares '
these ventures,several of •INVESTING The owners of The Roney is a $30 million loan to the and over how much money ,Cli
these companies called con- RATES MIXED I Palace have agreed to drop as business from some of The they should spend renovating BY BEATRICE I
sumers on the federal Do- ON T-BILLS much as $5 million off the Roney's owners, a second the property, lawyers bgarcia@herak
_Not-Call registry. E sales price of the Miami mortgage on the property involved in the case said. Fort L.
The Orlando companies Interest rates on short-
Beach Beach hotel in order to close with an interest rate at 25 per- After filing for Chapter 11 CyberGuar
named in the FTC complaint term Treasury securities a deal with a New York real cent, said Steven Willock,OneSetPrice,RPM Mar- were mixed in Monday's a protection in February, The + an unsolici
estate investor who wants to California lawyer represent- Roney's partners hired Price- i stock bid
keting Group,and National auction.
The TreasuryDe art- buy it out of bankruptcy,law- ing a rival ownership group. waterhouseCoopers to seek ( Computing,
Events Coordinators. P yers said Monday. out buyers. I company tl
went sold$18 billion in A venture headed byINSIDER DEAL ALLEGED About 120 potential buyers filtering,e-r
•TELEPHONES three-month bills at a dis- Joseph Chetrit,who recently Willock's client, the off- were contacted, and 13 sub- and firewall
LEUCADIA BIDS count rate of 1315 percent, secured thepurchase of Chi- shore entityPro invest, mitted bids, Sudhin Roy, a Accordir
down from 1320 percent last E P Y f
TO CONTROL MCI week Another$16 billion cago's Sears Tower, has claims that the loan consti- managing director at Price- its bid for S
MCI Inc.,less than three was sold in six-month bills agreed to pay$148 million to tutes an improper insider waterhouse, testified at the based on
months out of the largest at a rate of 1630
ix- percent, ' $150 million for the 585-room deal since it was made over hearing. The lowest bid was price Frida7
U.S.bankruptcy,said Leuca- unchanged from last week hotel and condominium coin- the past several years,when $115 million, and only two 22-percent
( plex,which has fallen victim most lenders were charging besides Chetrit came in over value of ea
dis National Corp.is seeking The three-month rate
U.S.government approval to was the lowest since June 7 to disputes among owners. rock-bottom interest rates.As $150 million. News of
buy a controlling stake. when the bills sold for L230 Chetrit's group agreed to a part of the bankruptcy nego- Chetrit's bid was seen as sent Secure
Shares of MCI rose 17 percent. $153.5 million price in May tiations,the ownership group the strongest because it did in initial tra
percent after the company The new discount rates but later argued for a reduc- that made the loan has agreed not give the buyer a chance to 1 settled bact
disclosed the interest from understate the actual return tion of as much as$33 million to reduce the interest rate renegotiate the price once it day, closin
dLe ,is cased a New York-based to investors—L33G percent to compensate for problems from 25 to 7 percent. had had a chance to inspect 1 $7.01.
company that has bought for three-month bills with a discovered after a purchase "They never collected a the property and review legal CyberGt
distressed businesses from $10,000 bill selling for contract was signed.The dis- penny," said Francis Carter, issues related to the business, 1 vides comps
pipelines to insurers. $9,966.80 and 1666 percent counted sales price resolved the Ferrell Schultz bank- Roy said. rity system;
that issue, lawyers for both ruptcy lawyer who repre- Such a lack of contingen- Secure on S
Leucadia's plan may for a six-month bill selling
entice other companies to for$9,917.60. sides said. On Monday, the sented one of the ownership cies had become a sticking The coral
bid for MCI,the No.2 U.S. lawyers also resolved a dis- groups that made the loan. point in recent months as companies
pute between The Roney's "It's kind of a nonissue." Chetrit tried to back away one of the le
long-distance phone pro-
eider,said analysts includ- •AIRLINES ownership and condominium The various owners could from the original $153.5 mil- firewalls tt
ingAvi Benus atJ.P. owners at the complex. not agree on the next step for lion sales price,citing,among worms,viru
J• MorganPERU CARRIER Robert Mark, chief judge The Roney,a massive,block- other things,potential claims side threats
Chase&Co.While long- SUSPENDS OPERATIONS of the U.S.Bankruptcy Court wide complex started in 1925 against the property by nesses in co
distance revenue has in Miami, approved the sale that in 1997 began a conver- Miami Beach
slumped,MCI's emergence Peru grounded the PPDuring
from Chapter 11 under new nation's leading airline Monday of
Chief Executive Michael Monday,citing the carrier's analysts es
Capellas allowed it to shave inability to find an insurance that Secure
$35 billion of debt while policy after it landed on a CRUISE LINES reject Cyb
retaining one of the world's U.S.government blacklist However,P.
largest Internet networks. for suspected drug traffick- Guard's ch,
Atlanta-based BellSouth ers. I Fewer passengers at Miami port said he w
Corp.and San Antonio- The Transportation Min- friendly des
Herald Staff Report more departure traffic is At the same time, other "We hay
based SBC Communications istry said in a statement that P
may also consider a bid,said it suspended the operations Reflecting a continuing going through other ports, ports are rising in passenger [for Securi
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