Opening statements next step in Enron fraud trial

Jurors who will decide whether former Enron Corp. chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling are criminals face a months-long journey into the heart of the scandal-ridden company. They’ll also face questions about just how illusory the “new-economy” powerhouse was in its glory days.

That journey begins today as prosecutors and defence attorneys launch perhaps the premier fraud case to emerge from the recent era of corporate scandals that started with Enron’s spectacular crash more than four years ago.