Government asks Skilling to turn over his, Lay's dirty money

Remember earlier this summer when Enron prosecutors said they would seek $183 million from former Enron execs Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling — money the government says is ill-gotten gains earned using fraud and conspiracy at Enron? And remember how Skilling complained about his $140 million share of that a few weeks later? Well, that might not have been such a good idea, it looks like: Since Lay is dead, the government has decided to ask Skilling to pony up the whole $183 million. Whoops!

The request came in a filing from prosecutors Friday in which they said Skilling is "liable for all the proceeds attributable to all co-conspirators, indicted or unindicted, including Lay," because all the conspirators were conspiring about the same thing. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake hasn't ruled yet, but Skilling maintains that the request is unfair, saying only $12.5 million could be tied to crimes connected with his conviction on charges of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading in Enron's 2001 collapse. What's more, Skilling's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said Skilling needs as much money as he can get so he can pay his lawyers — Skilling is reportedly so pleased with his legal team that he wants to pay them more than $53 million, a higher amount than he initially reported.

Prosecutors didn't buy it: "Skilling's level of satisfaction with his legal representation is wholly irrelevant to the issue of forfeiture," they said in Friday's filing. "Forfeiture is designed to remove the proceeds of criminal activity from the hands of criminals. Allowing those proceeds to escape forfeiture by funding an unprecedented defense would be directly contrary to the law."