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One Day After Indictment, Former Chesapeake Energy CEO Dies in Car Crash
- ZoeZoeBee 11y agoStock shot up 20% on the news http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/CHK http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/CHK
- justinsaccount 11y agoNo, it was already up 20% when the news came out. It went up a very small additional amount until it sold off 10 minutes later at 3pm EST.
- Uhhrrr 11y agoShades of Cliff Baxter: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-mysterious-death-of-an-enron-exec/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-mysterious-death-of-an-enron...
- brooklyndude 11y agoA. Accident B. Suicide C. Take over of his car, similar to what some conspiracy buffs think happened to Hastings from Rolling Stone.
- elif 11y agoor D. faked death, if we're going conspiracy routes.
- jimrandomh 11y agoNo, that one's easy to rule out.
- macjohnmcc 11y agoNot if he thought ahead and found a way to make a clone that would pass for him.
- rglover 11y agoHard boiled Oklahoma.
- arjn 11y agoYeah, this kind of thing will bring out the conspiracy nutters in droves.
- zzz157 11y agoHow is it nuttery to have suspicions about an oddly-timed death with a motive? It's nuttery to draw conclusions I suppose, but not to have suspicions. The hastings case was fairly obvious, I mean, they wouldn't even let Mercedes examine the car...
- omarforgotpwd 11y agoSuspicious. The conspiracy theorist in me says that someone wanted to put the investigation to bed quickly and make it seem like the death of the founder puts an end to the allegations.
- aaronarduino 11y agoIt was very probably suicide, see: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11212660 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11212660
- Cheyana 11y agoYep. All these conspiracy theories... but sometimes the guy just can't face consequences.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxVivkXUfdU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxVivkXUfdU
- Nrsolis 11y agoI knew a guy who got wrapped up in a minor stock fraud case that might have landed him in jail for maybe a year. He killed himself rather than face the music. Sad, actually. He didn't need to kill himself. There is life after a conviction.
- zipwitch 11y agoHe was reportedly driving a 2013 Chevy Tahoe, which typically has OnStar. DARPA demonstrated the ability to hack GMC's OnStar system to remotely control brake and throttle about a year ago. Make of that what you will. http://jalopnik.com/darpa-hacks-gms-onstar-to-remote-control-a-chevrolet-i-1684593523 http://jalopnik.com/darpa-hacks-gms-onstar-to-remote-control...
- ank_the_elder 11y agoInteresting, but an assertion of this type without evidence only expands the universe of possibilities rather than point to anything being the cause of it.
- rubicon33 11y agoWhy would a billionaire be driving a 2013 Chevy Tahoe? Forgive me if I find that to be the most interesting part of all of this.
- mmanfrin 11y agoIs buying a new car every <2 years a requirement of being excessively wealthy?
- sriram_sun 11y agoIf it's a big SUV you can take write-offs. Here is some data from my accountant. "By way of example: $40k suv. $25k section 179. Then bonus is 50% of the $15k remaining $7500. Then a little bit of standard depreciation. So that vehicle would be a $32,500 deduction if new or $25,000 if used."
- protomyth 11y agoI know people who aren't excessively wealthy that do that. I think its a tax thing for them, plus they put a lot of miles on the car each year.
- RunawayGalaxy 11y agoI'd guess that he didn't want to ruin the Mercedes.
- eplanit 11y agoReminds me of the oddly timed death of Ken Lay of Enron. Without a negative medical history he dies just after being convicted, but before being sentenced. Under the law, his assets would not be in jeopardy and could be passed on to his wife/family[1]. [1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/07/05/DI2006070500553.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006...
- awl130 11y agoyour implication is that it wasn't oddly timed at all, but perfectly timed.
- bcook 11y agoYou are assuming perspective (his family), and that death was decided. If it was a random death, then yeah... it is odd.
- ars 11y ago> Under the law, his assets would not be in jeopardy and could be passed on to his wife/family That reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peine_forte_et_dure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peine_forte_et_dure Where a person could not be convicted unless they placed themself under the authority of the court (by pleading either guilty or not guilty). By saying nothing the court could not penalize them (their family) financially, but could torture them even to death (which people preferred in order to help their family) in order to try to compel a plea. PS. Writing that last sentence really brought home how reversed morals today are from then. There really is no such thing as absolute morality.
- qubex 11y agoThe origin of the idiom “being hard pressed [to provide an answer]”.
- zzz157 11y agoI thought we all knew he was killed. It bothers me how people don't actually think this happens.
- narrowrail 11y agoMy friend grew up with this CEO's kids, and I can't believe this is being discussed here. For anyone that was aware of the situation when it was just an indictment it's one thing. But now with all the speculation after the death it is kinda creepy.