Enron shredder pleads guilty

A senior Arthur Andersen auditor today pleaded guilty to a criminal obstruction charge, acknowledging that he persuaded co-workers and others to shred documents to thwart the US government’s investigation into the collapse of energy giant Enron.

The precise charge against David Duncan, who was sacked in January shortly after Andersen acknowledged massive shredding of Enron documents, was outlined in court papers filed today in a Houston court

It said Duncan did ‘‘knowingly, intentionally and corruptly persuade and attempt to persuade other persons to withhold records, documents and other objects from an official proceeding, namely an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.’’

Duncan was expected to appear in court later today.

His guilty plea said the shredding took place between October 23 and November 9.

Duncan also has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors pursuing obstruction charges against Andersen and in the broader investigation of the collapse of Enron.

A grand jury had indicted Andersen of obstructing justice, accusing the firm of destroying ‘‘tons of paper’’ at offices worldwide and deleting enormous numbers of computer files on its audits of Enron.

At times, the government said, the shredding was so fast-paced that employees worked overtime and shredding machines couldn’t keep pace.

Duncan is believed to be the first person in the case to have struck a deal with prosecutors.