HOUSTON - A former Enron Corp. vice chairman who died of a gunshot wound to the head committed suicide, a coroner confirmed Saturday.
J. Clifford Baxter, 43, resigned in May and was found dead Friday in a Mercedes-Benz parked not far from his home in the affluent Houston suburb of Sugar Land.
Police found a suicide note and a .38-caliber revolver at his side. The contents of the note were not disclosed.
A justice of the peace initially ruled the death a suicide but ordered an autopsy because of the intense interest in the case.
Baxter was named in an explosive warning that another Enron executive sent to company Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lay in August about questionable financial practices.
``Cliff Baxter complained mightily to (then-CEO Jeff) Skilling and all who would listen about the inappropriateness of our transactions with LJM,'' Sherron Watkins wrote. LJM is one of the partnerships apparently used to keep a half-billion dollars in losses off Enron's books.
Baxter left Enron several months before the company collapsed in the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Enron's financial practices are now under investigation by federal prosecutors, the FBI, securities regulators and 11 congressional committees. Lay, a focus of the investigations, resigned this week.
Baxter faced questions in the investigation and was named in a shareholder lawsuit.
The lawsuit allege that 29 people made $1.1 billion by selling Enron stock between October 1998 and November 2001. It says Baxter had sold 577,436 shares for $35.2 million before the company's collapse.
``I have no inkling whether the unfortunate event had anything to do with the investigation,'' said Baxter's attorney, Michael Levy.
With their home under police guard, Baxter's family released a statement Friday pleading for privacy.
``We are suffering the loss of our beloved husband, father and friend and respectfully wish not to be disturbed at this time,'' the statement said.
Enron released a statement Friday, saying, ``We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague.''
Enron spokesman Mark Palmer had no additional comment.
Baxter was born in Amityville, N.Y., and graduated from New York University. He was a captain in the Air Force from 1980 to 1985 and received an MBA in 1987 from Columbia University, where he was valedictorian, according to the company.
Baxter joined Enron in 1991. He was chairman and CEO of Enron North America, which encompassed Enron's energy trading operation, before being named chief strategy officer and then vice chairman of Enron Corp., the company said.
Thursday
May 29th, 2025
2:44AM
