Enron wife Lea Fastow has been sentenced to 12 months in jail on her misdemeanor plea. She will get no good time and have to do the full 12 months. Last week, she signed on with the Government as a cooperating witness, as did her husband, former CEO Andrew Fastow, several months before.

Why would she sign on as an informant now? We think it is to enable the Government to file a "Rule 35" motion in a few months seeking a post-sentencing cooperation reduction to get her back to the five months the Government originally agreed to. Clearly, the Judge is not happy with the Prosecution for dismissing six felony counts and allowing Ms. Fastow to plead to a misdemeanor:

Before sentencing her, Hittner lambasted the government for recommending that she be sentenced on a misdemeanor tax charge after originally being charged with six felony counts. "The Department of Justice's behavior might be seen as a blatant manipulation of the federal justice system and is of great concern to this court," he said.