[JURIST] Former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow [Houston Chronicle profile; JURIST news archive] was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday after US District Court Judge Kenneth Hoyt [official profile] reduced the 10 year prison term he accepted as part of his plea agreement [text, PDF] based on Fastow's cooperation [JURIST report] in the prosecution of former Enron CEOs Kenneth Lay [Houston Chronicle profile; JURIST news archive] and Jeffrey Skilling [Houston Chronicle profile]. Hoyt also said Fastow and his family had suffered enough in the Enron collapse and its legal aftermath which left thousands of victims in its wake, many with wiped-out savings, telling the courtroom "Prosecution is necessary, but persecution was not."

Fastow's wife Lea was released from prison [JURIST report] in June after serving a one year sentence for pleading guilty [JURIST report] to filing a false federal tax return related to money she and her husband received from Enron [JURIST news archive] financial dealings. Lay and fellow Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling were convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges [JURIST report] in May but Lay died of a heart attack [JURIST report] before his sentencing hearing. Skilling is set to be sentenced next month. AP has more.