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--> --> Former PGE executives cashed in on Enron stock PORTLAND (AP) - Two former top Portland General Electric executives are being sued after they cashed in their Enron stock for more than $100 million before the bankrupt Texas energy company's stock collapsed. Kenneth Harrison, who was chief executive officer when PGE was sold to Enron in 1997, made $75 million on his stock sale last year. Joseph Hirko, the former PGE chief financial officer, made $35 million. Both were among 29 Enron executives or directors named in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Houston, where Enron is based, The Oregonian reported. The lawsuit by New York-based Amalgamated Bank claims Enron officials engaged in a three-year pattern of fraud and deception that caused share prices to fall from $67 a share when Harrison and Hirko sold their stock, to less than a dollar by last week. The lawsuit alleges the 29 Enron officials reaped windfalls by selling more than $1 billion in stock during a period when Enron has admitted hiding its true financial condition. The complaint asks for a court injunction immediately freezing all proceeds from stock sales by the Enron officials named in the lawsuit. A judge scheduled a hearing Friday in Houston on the request. The Enron collapse has launched investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Labor Department, Justice Department and a congressional committee. The Labor Department said Wednesday that many Enron employees - including PGE workers with 401(k) plans invested in Enron stock - have lost 70 percent to 90 percent of their retirement assets. "Enron's employees have gotten the short end of the stick in the sudden collapse of this company and we are committed to doing everything we can to help them," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said Wednesday. Harrison and Hirko, who both left their Enron executive posts in 2000, were the only former company officials with ties to Oregon named in the lawsuit. Efforts by the Associated Press to reach Harrison and Hirko for comment were unsuccessful. Hirko declined to comment to The Oregonian newspaper. The lawsuit alleges that the fraud was carried out from Oct. 19, 1998, until Nov. 27, 2001. The complaint also names Enron's accounting firm as a defendant. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing