Stanford gets yet another lawyer

R. Allen Stanford’s rotating defense team has changed yet again. Yesterday, George “Mac” Secrest, a partner in Houston’s Bennett & Secrest, joined Kent Schaffer of Houston’s Bires & Schaffer to defend the jailed chairman of the Stanford Financial Group. Secrest previously represented the late Enron chief Ken Lay. “I’ve worked with Mac several times in the past and he’s a lawyer that I’ve always had great experiences with,” Schaffer says. “We approach these cases in a very similar way. And he’s regarded as one of the better appellate lawyers and because of that he brings some expertise that is needed in a case that has so many complex issues.” Secrest did not immediately return a telephone call for comment. Stanford, three other SFG executives, and a former bank regulator in Antigua were indicted in June on fraud and obstruction charges in connection with an alleged conspiracy to defraud investors who bought about $7 billion in certificates of deposit sold through the Stanford International Bank Ltd. All pleaded not guilty to the charges in June, except for Leroy King, the Antiguan bank regulator who is currently under house arrest in Antigua and has not made a court appearance in Texas.
-- John Council