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Ex-Enron exec who questioned company's finances dies in suicide Houston Chronicle, 01/25/2002 Former Enron exec Baxter dead CBS.MarketWatch.com, 01/25/2002 Former Enron Executive Baxter Kills Self, Police Say Bloomberg, 01/25/2002 Former Enron Executive Found Dead Associated Press, 01/25/2002 Enron's Baxter 'Complained Mightily' About Transactions Dow Jones Energy Service, 01/25/2002 _____________________________________________________________________ Ex-Enron exec who questioned company's finances dies in suicide Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle staff and wire reports Jan. 25, 2002, 12:16PM A former Enron Corp. executive who challenged the company's questionable financial practices and resigned last May was found shot to death in a car in Sugar Land today in what was ruled a suicide, authorities said. Enron officials confirmed the death this morning of J. Clifford Baxter, 43, former vice chairman of the embattled Houston company. His body and a note were found at 2:23 a.m. today between two medians in the 5200 block of Palm Royal, near his home in an upscale residential area in Sugar Land. He was in the driver's seat of the vehicle and a police officer stopped to check on him after noticing the parked car. The officer discovered what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Baxter's head. Police did not reveal the contents or nature of the note. Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Jim Richard of Fort Bend County ruled Baxter's death a suicide mid-morning today. Richard said the car was locked and Sugar Land police had to break a window to get in. He said Baxter's body was in the driver's seat with a pistol in his hand. Richard initially decided the death was an obvious suicide and there was no need for an autopsy and the body was taken to a nearby funeral home. About noon, however, he indicated that an autopsy might be warranted. "We don't have any other indication other than it being suicide," said Sugar Land police Capt. David Marcaurele. Baxter was vice chairman of Enron when he resigned in May 2001, several months before the energy company's collapse. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Cliff Baxter," said an official company statement today. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends." Enron spokesman Mark Palmer had no additional comment. Baxter was identified by name in the explosive warning that Enron executive Sherron Watkins wrote last August to company chairman Ken Lay. "Cliff Baxter complained mightily to (then-CEO Jeff) Skilling and all who would listen about the inappropriateness of our transactions with LJM," one of the partnerships that kept hundreds of millions of dollars in debt off Enron's books. Watkins identified Baxter in a section of her letter stating there is "a veil of secrecy around LJM and Raptor," another entity involved in the partnerships. Watkins' letter to Lay stated that "we will implode in a wave of accounting scandals" unless the company halted practices that eventually sent it into bankruptcy. Baxter was the lead negotiator on Enron's purchase of Portland General Electric in 1997. He was one of 29 former and current Enron executives and board members named as defendants in a federal lawsuit. Plaintiffs' lawyers said the executives made $1.1 billion by selling Enron stock between October 1998 and November 2001. It said Baxter had sold 577,436 shares for $35.2 million. According to the May 2001 press release, Baxter was to have continued working for the company as a consultant. Baxter was born Sept. 27, 1958 in Amityville, N.Y., received a bachelor's of science from New York University in 1980 and an MBA from Columbia University seven years later. He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force, 1980-85. Baxter had joined Enron in 1991 and was chairman and CEO of Enron North America prior to being named chief strategy officer for Enron Corp. in June 2000 and vice chairman in October 2000, the company said. Baxter resigned from Enron months before the company imploded amid revelations of questionable financing and overstated earnings. Enron's downfall began in mid-October with the release of a $618 million third-quarter loss and a $1.2 billion writedown of shareholder equity. Subsequent revelations of partnerships that allowed Enron to keep half a billion dollars in debt off its books and elimination of millions in profits with restated earnings since 1997 fueled the company's descent into the largest bankruptcy in history on Dec. 2. In the May 2001 resignation announcement, Skilling said, "Over the past 10 years, Cliff has made a tremendous contribution to Enron's evolution, particularly as a member of the team that built Enron's wholesale business. "His creativity, intelligence, sense of humor and straightforward manner have been assets to the company throughout his career. While we will miss him, we are happy that his primary reason for resigning is to spend additional time with his family, and we wish him the very best." Former Enron exec Baxter dead Vice chairman who left in May apparently killed himself By Lisa Sanders, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 1:13 PM ET Jan. 25, 2002 HOUSTON (CBS.MW) - The Enron saga took a tragic turn after former Vice-Chairman J. Clifford Baxter, who resigned his post in May 2001, died of an apparent suicide, police said Friday. He was 43. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Cliff Baxter," Enron said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends." According to police in Sugar Land, Texas, outside Houston, Baxter was found dead in his car Friday with a gunshot wound to his head. Police said they found a suicide note and no sign of foul play. "From our investigation everything points toward (suicide)," said Captain David Marcaurele of the Sugar Land Police Department. "He was found in his vehicle in Sugar Land with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was dead at the scene and the sole occupant in the vehicle." A Sugar Land police officer stopped to check on the driver of the car because it was parked in residential area between two medians, Marcaurele said. Details of the suicide note were not being released Friday. Marcaurele declined to comment on the contents. Baxter was most recently working for Enron as a consultant. In a letter Enron employee Sherron Watkins wrote to former Chairman Ken Lay in August, she mentioned Baxter as she questioned the company's accounting practices. "Cliff Baxter complained mightily to Skilling and all who would listen about the inappropriateness of our transactions with LJM," Watkins wrote. Jeffrey Skilling, Enron's former chief executive, abruptly resigned his post in mid-August. Former Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow created and managed the two LJM partnerships. Related-party transactions conducted within the partnerships cost Enron and caused the company to take a $1.2 billion equity reduction in the third quarter of 2001. The transactions led to a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. The revelation of the equity reduction along with a $1 billion third-quarter charge the company began the process that led to Enron's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Dec. 2. Baxter joined Enron in 1991 and was chairman of Enron North America -- the crown jewel of the now bankrupt company -- until he got the job of chief strategy officer of the corporation in June 2000. Enron named Baxter vice-chairman in October 2000. Lisa Sanders is a Dallas-based reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com. Former Enron Executive Baxter Kills Self, Police Say 2002-01-25 13:28 (New York) Sugar Land, Texas, Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Former Enron Corp. Vice Chairman John Clifford Baxter, who criticized secret partnership agreements that bankrupted the energy trader and spawned federal investigations, committed suicide, said police in Sugar Land, Texas. He was 43. Baxter's body was found in his car at 2:23 a.m. with ``an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,'' according to a statement e-mailed by police to Bloomberg News. "Baxter was dead at the scene and the sole occupant of the vehicle. A suicide note was found at the scene.'' Baxter, who helped build Enron's wholesale energy trading business, resigned in May after a decade with the company. He had clashed with former Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling and "complained mightily'' about the ``inappropriateness'' of partnerships used to keep debt off Enron's books, Vice President Sherron Watkins said in a letter released by U.S. investigators. Baxter was one of six Enron directors named as defendants in at least 40 investor lawsuits claiming the company concealed losses that led to Enron's bankruptcy filing on Dec. 2. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Cliff Baxter,'' Enron said in a faxed statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.'' Sold Shares Baxter made $42.4 million from selling nearly 654,000 shares of Enron stock over the past four years, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. He was responsible for strategy, including acquisitions and divestitures, spokeswoman Karen Denne said at the time of Baxter's resignation. Baxter was named Enron's chief strategy officer in June 2000. Before that, he was chairman and chief executive of Enron North America. Baxter and his wife gave $10,000 to the Republican National Committee in the last election cycle, according to FECInfo, which tracks campaign finance. Baxter served five years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a captain in 1985. He attended New York University and Columbia University business school. He was born in Amityville, New York. Mark Frevert, Baxter's successor, left the company at the end of December. The House Energy and Commerce Committee had planned to subpoena Baxter, Representative Jim Greenwood said. He declined to say why or what the committee would ask Baxter. Sugar Land is a small community southwest of Houston. --Chitra Somayaji in the Princeton newsroom at (609) 750-4668, or csomayaji@Bloomberg.net, with reporting by Margot Habiby in Dallas and Jim Kennett in Houston. Editors: A. Sullivan, Stroth. Former Enron Executive Found Dead By KRISTEN HAYS, Associated Press Writer 9:42 AM PST, January 25, 2002 HOUSTON -- A former Enron Corp. executive who challenged the company's questionable financial practices and resigned last May was found shot to death in a car today, an apparent suicide, authorities said. Police in the suburb, Sugar Land, confirmed the death of 43-year-old J. Clifford Baxter, a former Enron vice chairman. He was shot in the head. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Cliff Baxter. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends," the company said in a statement. Spokesman Mark Palmer had no additional comment. Baxter was vice chairman of Enron when he resigned in May 2001, several months before the energy company's collapse. Baxter was identified by name in the explosive warning that Enron executive Sherron Watkins wrote last August to company chairman Ken Lay. "Cliff Baxter complained mightily to (then-CEO Jeff) Skilling and all who would listen about the inappropriateness of our transactions with LJM," one of the partnerships that kept hundreds of millions of dollars in debt off Enron's books. Watkins identified Baxter in a section of her letter stating there is "a veil of secrecy around LJM and Raptor," another entity involved in the partnerships. Watkins' letter to Lay stated that "we will implode in a wave of accounting scandals" unless the company halted practices that eventually sent it into bankruptcy. His body was found at 2:23 a.m. today in a car parked in between two medians in a residential area in Sugar Land. He was in the driver's seat of the vehicle and a police officer stopped to check on him after noticing the parked car. Jim Richard, a Fort Bend County justice of the peace, ruled Baxter's death a suicide. Baxter was one of 29 former and current Enron executives and board members named as defendants in a federal lawsuit. Plaintiffs' lawyers said the executives made $1.1 billion by selling Enron stock between October 1998 and November 2001. It said Baxter had sold 577,436 shares for $35.2 million. At the time his resignation was announced, Skilling said Baxter had made "a tremendous contribution to Enron's evolution, particularly as a member of the team that built Enron's wholesale business." It said his primary reason for resigning was to spend more time with his family. Baxter had joined Enron in 1991 and was chairman and CEO of Enron North America prior to being named chief strategy officer for Enron Corp. in June 2000 and vice chairman in October 2000, the company said. Enron's Baxter 'Complained Mightily' About Transactions By Bryan Lee 01/25/2002 Dow Jones Energy Service (Copyright © 2002, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- J. Clifford Baxter, the Enron Corp. (ENRNQ) executive who committed suicide Friday, resigned from the company last May after he "complained mightily" about the inappropriateness of certain financial transactions that sent the Houston energy-trading giant into bankruptcy by year-end. Baxter, a former vice chairman at Enron, "complained mightily to Skilling and all who would listen about the inappropriateness of our transactions with LJM," Enron executive Sherron Watkins said in an August memo to Kenneth Lay, who resigned this week as the company's chairman and chief executive. Watkins sent the memo anonymously, concerned that increasing investor scrutiny in the wake of the surprise August resignation of Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling would uncover the facts about the transactions and Enron would "implode in a wave of accounting scandals." LJM was one of the special-purpose entities Enron established to take its debt off the books, inflating earnings and the company's stock value. Losses incurred through the partnership led to the company's historic financial collapse last year. Baxter was among seven top Enron executives reported to have earned millions from insider stock sales last year. - By Bryan Lee, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6647; Bryan.Lee@dowjones.com Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sarah Palmer Internal Communications Manager Enron Public Relations (713) 853-9843
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