Enron lawyer questioned off-the-book deals

washington: immediately after he was hired, an enron attorney became so concerned about obscure partnerships the company was using to conceal debt that he raised a string of objections in an attempt to rein them in. the uneasiness of ex-enron lawyer jordan mintz is detailed in five memos released on the eve of a thursday house committee hearing whose other star witness will be former enron chief executive jeff skilling, who let the partnerships proceed.in the senate, democratic senator ernest hollings and republican ted stevens on wednesday urged their leaders to set up a single select committee for the chamber's investigation because so many panels are investigating enron. four enron executives with knowledge of the partnerships were to be witnesses at the house hearing, but would invoke their fifth amendment right not to testify, said ken johnson, spokesman for the house energy and commerce committee. the four, who would all be present, include andrew fastow, who was at the center of off-the-books deals involving the partnerships, said johnson. skilling, who will testify, said that he knew little about the details of partnership deals that eventually plunged enron into bankruptcy. the memos show that mintz insisted skilling signed off on the arrangements before they could proceed. in the case of one partnership, six people signed an approval sheet, but the line next to skilling's typed name is blank. two of the people who signed the sheet, rick buy and rick causey, were among the people refusing to testify, said johnson. (afp) related stories: