The New York Times and the AP report the death of Ig Nobel Prize winner Bernard Ebbers:
Bernard J. Ebbers, who spent 12 years in prison after presiding over a notorious $11 billion accounting fraud as chief executive of the telephone company WorldCom, died on Sunday. He was 78.
The 2002 Ig Nobel Prize for economics was awarded to the executives, corporate directors, and auditors of Enron, Lernaut & Hauspie [Belgium], Adelphia, Bank of Commerce and Credit International [Pakistan], Cendant, CMS Energy, Duke Energy, Dynegy, Gazprom [Russia], Global Crossing, HIH Insurance [Australia], Informix, Kmart, Maxwell Communications [UK], McKessonHBOC, Merrill Lynch, Merck, Peregrine Systems, Qwest Communications, Reliant Resources, Rent-Way, Rite Aid, Sunbeam, Tyco, Waste Management, WorldCom, Xerox, and Arthur Andersen, for adapting the mathematical concept of imaginary numbers for use in the business world. [NOTE: all companies are/were U.S.-based unless otherwise noted.]
Here’s video of the announcement at the 2002 Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, in Sanders Theatre, Harvard University (the human curtainrods, partially clad, are the Dresden Dolls):