Described As A Charmer, Fastow's Ferocious Tirades Revealed His Dark Side.

Byline: Bill Murphy

Oct. 3--In 1999, Enron was the darling of the investment world, and some saw then-Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow as the man who had made it so.

CFO: The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives gave him one of its highest honors, the excellence award for capital structure management.

"Analysts have attributed the company's success largely to Fastow," the magazine gushed. "Much of its growth has been fueled by the unique financing techniques pioneered by Fastow."

Those unique financing techniques turned out to be the prime cause of Enron's implosion.

Fastow, 40, who was catapulted to a senior executive, is facing up to 140 years in prison if convicted. He was released on $5 million bond Wednesday after being charged with fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to enrich himself at the company's expense.

Fastow "helped put Enron in a very favorable light with Wall Street," said Phil Hilder, who represents Enron Vice President Sherron Watkins, a critic of Fastow. "He was one of the architects who helped give the world the impression that Enron was doing better than it was in reality.

"But if all the allegations about him are correct, he was largely responsible for the collapse of the company."

Intelligent, impeccably groomed, with a winning smile, he could charm a roomful of investment bankers or stock analysts. But inside Enron, Fastow played hardball office politics, exiling critics from his division or insulting them in tirades often spiced with expletives.

" 'Couldn't happen to a nicer guy' is the phrase you hear around here all the time," a company executive said. "There is a tremendous amount of anger towards Andy Fastow.

"He was enriching himself while causing the company to sink."

Upon coming to Enron in 1990, former…