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Enron puts 'Crooked E' sign up for sale

C Bryson Hull in Houston

For Enron memorabilia seekers, nirvana may be at hand.

The ultimate symbol of the bankrupt power trader -- one of the ubiquitous chrome signs dubbed "the Crooked E" for its distinctive slant and commentary on the company's questionable dealings -- is on the auction block, a company spokeswoman said.

It is one of thousands of items the company is selling to raise cash for creditors in a sale set for Sept. 25 and 26.

The "Crooked E" that potential buyers will bid on once stood in front of one of Enron's auxiliary office buildings in downtown Houston, spokeswoman Karen Denne said.

The best-known of the signs, located in front of the company's silvered headquarters and used as a backdrop for many a television report, is not for sale and remains in place, its fate as uncertain as Enron's.

"It's a sign of the times," Denne said of the auction, the second since Enron declared bankruptcy last December in a huge financial scandal. An earlier auction took place in London when Enron sold off equipment there.

Before Enron collapsed, it was known as a company with expensive tastes and the goods on sale do not disappoint.

A host of brand-new 50-inch (127 cm) flat-screen plasma monitors, which were destined for Enron trading floors, are on auction, as are dozens that were already in use.

The spiffy high-tech screens retail for about the same as a compact car -- $7,000 to $11,000 -- and are already causing a buzz among former employees who would like to buy them.

On www.1400smith.com, a web site for former employees, one quipped that he "wants the one with PJM burned into it," a reference to the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland power grid map that was displayed continuously on one of the screens.

Several hundred Herman Miller Aeron ergonomic chairs, a prime status symbol among the Internet set that retail for around $700, are also for sale. Those were strong sellers in the London auction, Denne said.

About 3,000 desktop and laptop computers are on auction, as are hundreds of flat panel monitors, servers and computer networking components.

But there are, as with all things Enron, caveats: all items for auction are being sold as-is, and winning bidders must make their own arrangements to carry home their booty.

Enron officers, directors and vice presidents are prohibited from bidding in the auction, can be done with the Internet or in person at the Houston Radisson Astrodome hotel. A preview of the merchandise is set for Sept. 24 at an Enron warehouse just a few miles from its downtown headquarters.

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