Ex-Enron boss in bid to shift trial

LAWYERS for disgraced former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling want to move his trial away from Houston, Texas, where thousands of residents lost jobs and pensions when the energy company went bankrupt in 2001.

Skilling's legal team said in a filing to a federal court that it would be impossible for a jury in the company's home town to be unbiased. They nominated Phoenix, Denver and Atlanta as potential alternative venues.

One in three Houston residents has a negative impression of Skilling, who is frequently described as 'evil', a 'pig' and a 'snake' in the local media, and is routinely compared with Hitler, Al Qaeda and the Devil, the filing said.

Change of venue requests are becoming an increasingly common tactic in US criminal trials.

Lawyers for two of Skilling's co-defendants - former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay and ex-chief accounting officer Richard Causey - have also submitted court filings for a relocation.

Enron went bankrupt three years ago after revelations of hidden debt, inflated profits and accounting tricks.

Government lawyers are to file a response to Skilling's request before the judge rules on the bid.