CEOs Face the Music

Bernard Ebbers, ex-CEO of WorldCom (now MCI), was just found guilty on all counts for his role in causing the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, costing investors billions and workers their jobs. (The company, now located in northern Virginia, was based in Mississippi when the accounting scandals broke.) Hear all the pathos captured in "The Day WorldCom Died."

You also can follow the ongoing trial of Richard Scrushy, former CEO and company founder of HealthSouth, for $3.8 to $4.6 billion in accounting fraud. Scrushy, as it turns out, had a musical side: he played keyboards and sang for a band called Dallas County Line, and wrote songs, including one called "Rich Man's Dream." Other executives and employees were involved in Scrushy's band. Accountant Bill Owens played drums and helped HealthSouth fake $2.6 billion in profits: "[We] started out as a garage band....We became, I think, pretty good over time."

HealthSouth employee Macey Taylor played piano: "One of the bizarre scenarios of being an employee of HealthSouth and being in that band was that if you had a boss or supervisor, you could just tell them you have band practice."

Lastly, click here for the Houston Chronicle's special coverage on the Enron scandal for news of former CEO Ken Lay's upcoming trial. And see this collection of Enron-themed songs, including "Oh Kenny Boy" (to the tune of "Danny Boy"), "Enron Ron" (the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron"), and "Skilling Proved Costly to Enron" (Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song").

EDIT: Corrected spelling of the Crystals' 1963 Top Ten hit, 3:17 p.m. 3-15-05