Workers Trapped In Enron Stock As Execs Sell Retirement Plans Smashed Lure of stock match masks the danger of placing all of your eggs in one basket.(MUTUAL FUNDS)

Byline: KEN HOOVER

Thousands of Enron employees stuffed their retirement funds with company shares this year with the company's encouragement while Enron's executives were heavy sellers of stock.

Workers with the bulk of their 401(k) plans in Enron stock were hit hard as the once highflying issue fell from a peak of 90.75 on Aug. 23, 2000, to close at 0.26 on Friday.

A divisional officer, Kenneth D. Rice, unloaded 385,966 shares in July while the stock was still trading in the high 40s, according to Vickers Weekly Insiders Report. That was the majority of his holdings, and netted him $19 million.

Other executives made multimillion-dollar sells, including Chairman Kenneth Lay. He sold $12 million in stock between May and July. But he made similar sells all year.

Not every insider was prescient. Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow put down $369,800 to buy 10,000 shares in August. Such a stake is now worth $2,600.

"Whenever you see sustained insider selling for a long period of time by insiders who have been selling or are selling a large portion of their holdings, it's a red flag," said David Coleman, Vickers editor.