安然前首席财务官的忏悔

    “女士们、先生们，欢迎安迪•法斯托！”

    他似乎不应该成为拉斯维加斯的焦点人物，在2,500名诈骗审计师济济一堂的会议厅里登台发言。

    六月底，曾入狱5年多的安然（Enron）前首席财务官安迪•法斯托出现在了美国特许诈骗审查师学会（ACFE）召开的大会上，这是他在艰难的救赎之路上迈出的最为公开的一步——讲述自己怎样成为一个“诈骗者”，就如今公司的做法发出令人深省的警告，甚至对2001年安然的倒闭进行反思。

    法斯托的发言从自我批评开始，而且还讲了个冷笑话。他说：“你们中间有几个人对我说，十年来你们学会有了长足发展。他们对我表示感谢。他们说，在为贵行业的发展做贡献方面，没有哪个人能比得上我。我想说，大家不必客气。”

    听众们一阵大笑。

    笑声平息后，法斯托认真地说：“但我并不因此而感到骄傲。”

    法斯托曾在78个法庭面临诈骗指控，大多数罪名都和安然与一系列表外机构的交易有关。法斯托在这些机构组成的网络中扮演着核心作用，这些交易掩盖了安然的财务状况，让法斯托获利数千万美元。他最终向两个法庭认罪，缴纳罚金3,000万美元，并同意作为政府证人指控以前的上司们。

    2011年出狱后，法斯托回到了休斯顿，也就是安然总部所在地，和他的妻子莉和两个儿子团聚，过着低调的生活。今年51岁的法斯托在帮他打了民事官司的律师事务所做文件审核员，过着朝九晚五的生活。

    法斯托已无偿做过14次报告，大多数都是在大学里，通常不允许媒体参加。第一次是在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校（University of Colorado-Boulder）。读过该分校商学院院长就职业道德发表的专栏文章后，法斯托主动提出给这所学校的学生做报告。随后他又在塔夫斯大学（Tufts）、杜兰大学（Tulane）和达特茅斯学院（Dartmouth）发表演说，还计划今年秋天为一个联合国团体做报告。

    在拉斯维加斯，讲台上的法斯托身着休闲西服和开襟衬衣。他面色严肃，有时会停顿一下。他解释说：“我不太习惯在这么多人面前发言。如果我觉得紧张，或者我显得紧张的话，请你们谅解。”

    "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Andrew Fastow!"

    He was an improbable Las Vegas headliner, taking the stage before a packed convention hall of 2,500 fraud examiners.

    For former Enron CFO Andy Fastow, who spent more than five years in federal prison for his crimes, last week's appearance before the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners was his most public step in an uphill redemptive journey -- to explain how he became a "fraudster;" to sound provocative warnings about today's corporate practices; and even to offer a bit of revisionism on the company's 2001 collapse.

    Fastow launched his talk with a broad mea culpa, introduced with a grim joke. "Several of you have commented to me that your organization has grown dramatically over the past 10 years," he said. "And they thank me. They said no other individual has been more responsible for the growth of your industry than me. So: You're welcome."

    The crowd roared.

    "It's not something I'm proud of," he added soberly, after the laughter had died down.

    Fastow was initially charged with 78 counts of fraud, mostly connected to his central role in a web of off-balance sheet entities that did business with Enron, disguised the company's financial condition, and made Fastow tens of millions. He ultimately pled guilty to two counts, forfeited $30 million, and agreed to testify against his former bosses as a government witness.

    Since leaving prison in 2011 and resuming life with his wife Lea and two sons in Houston, where Enron was based, Fastow has kept a low profile. Now 51, he works 9-to-5 as a document-review clerk at the law firm that represented him in civil litigation.

    Fastow has given 14 unpaid talks, mostly at universities, usually with no press allowed. The first came at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He volunteered to speak to students after reading a column on ethics by the dean of the business school. Fastow has also spoken at Tufts, Tulane, and Dartmouth and is scheduled to address a United Nations group in the fall.

    In Las Vegas, dressed in a blazer and open shirt, Fastow stood at the podium a bit grim-faced, his speech sometimes halting. "I'm not used to giving talk to groups this big," he explained. "I apologize to you if I feel nervous -- if I appear nervous."