Judge delays ex-Merrill Lynch exec’s retrial in Enron-related case to weigh misconduct claims

Retrial delayed for ex-Merrill Lynch exec

HOUSTON — A federal judge in Houston has delayed the retrial of a former Merrill Lynch executive whose 2004 Enron-related fraud and conspiracy convictions were overturned.

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. on Thursday pushed back James A. Brown’s retrial to Nov. 15. It had been set for Aug. 2.

The judge ordered the delay so he can evaluate arguments that prosecutors withheld evidence that could have cleared Brown of charges he faced at his first trial.

Brown and two other executives were convicted in 2004 of conspiracy and wire fraud. They’re accused of helping push through Enron’s sham sale to Merrill Lynch of three power barges moored off the Nigerian coast in 1999.

An appeals court threw out the convictions in 2006 after finding fault with the prosecution’s legal theory.