“Enron Corp. founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay has surrendered to the FBI in Houston,” according to a report on today’s Wall Street Journal Online.

“Mr. Lay, accompanied by a pastor, emerged from a sport-utility vehicle driven by his wife, Linda, and walked into Houston’s FBI headquarters at dawn. ‘Nice of you all to show up this morning,’ Mr. Lay told a throng of reporters.”

“About 20 minutes later, his hands behind him in cuffs, Mr. Lay was placed in a sedan with authorities for the drive to Houston’s federal courthouse. After arriving there, he was led into the building through a back door.”

“A grand jury returned a sealed indictment against Mr. Lay on Wednesday, two-and-a-half years into a methodical investigation that has produced charges against some of Mr. Lay’s once most highly trusted lieutenants, including his hand-picked protege, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling.”

“Mr. Lay said he would have additional comments later in the day.”

” ‘I have done nothing wrong, and the indictment is not justified,’ Lay, 62 years old, said in a statement Wednesday after learning of the indictment. The indictment was to be unsealed after Mr. Lay’s surrender.”

“Prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Enron Task Force presented an indictment to U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy in Houston on Wednesday, and at their request she sealed both the indictment and an arrest warrant, sources told the Associated Press. The specific charges remained under seal.”

“A hearing before Judge Milloy was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. EDT Thursday. Mr. Lay’s lawyer, Michael Ramsey, didn’t immediately return calls for comment.”

“The Securities and Exchange Commission also was expected to bring civil fraud charges against Mr. Lay on Thursday, including making false and misleading statements and insider trading, a person familiar with the case said.”

“Prosecutors have aggressively pursued the onetime celebrity chief executive and friend and contributor to President Bush who led Enron’s rise to No. 7 in the Fortune 500 and resigned within weeks of its stunning failure. Mr. Lay is the 30th and highest-profile individual charged.