HOUSTON — Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey K. Skilling on Wednesday testified for the first time about his relationship with his codefendant and ex-boss, Kenneth L. Lay, saying the two made "a good team" but never conspired to defraud investors.
Skilling, in his third day on the witness stand, described a two-decade association with Lay that was complementary in business terms but not especially warm.
"I'm not a real social person," Skilling replied when his chief defense lawyer, Daniel M. Petrocelli, asked whether he saw much of Lay outside of work.
Skilling, 52, testified Monday that his college nickname, A.B., stood for "All Business." At Enron, he was known as an intense executive who could be abrasive and profane in his dealings with people inside and outside the company.
By contrast, the 63-year-old Lay, Enron's founder and chairman, was seen as courtly and engaging, an able diplomat who mixed well with politicians and regulators and was a "go-to guy" for civic and charitable causes around Houston.
Legal experts have said that prosecutors may seek to drive a wedge between the two former executives, getting one to try to exculpate himself at the expense of the other. However, there was no hint of any such rift in Skilling's testimony.
Skilling said the two men focused on different parts of the company. Skilling liked the merchant and retail energy businesses he had developed. He also took the lead in dealing with Wall Street analysts, credit-rating firms and bankers.
Lay, according to Skilling, focused on Enron's international businesses and relations with Washington. "I was not particularly good at dealing with government officials," Skilling said.
Skilling dismissed as "completely untrue" the allegation in his and Lay's indictment that they had engaged in a conspiracy to manipulate Enron's books and conceal its true financial condition. The two face more than 20 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Asked what he would have done had he ever become aware of criminal activity at Enron, Skilling said: "I would have called the FBI." After a pause, he smiled tightly and said: "I might have a little hesitation now."
Petrocelli continued leading Skilling step by step through the indictment and the case that the prosecution presented in the first 10 weeks of the trial.
