The count is now 14.

Former Enron Broadband Services executive Kevin Hannon pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, becoming the 14th former executive to strike a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Originally indicted on charges of conspiracy, money laundering and insider trading, the former chief operating officer of Enron's Internet business avoided an Oct. 4 trial by entering the plea this afternoon before Judge Vanessa Gilmore. He faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 penalty, but he remains free on a $1 million bond, and his sentencing will come later.

As part of the plea bargain with prosecutors, Hannon agreed to forfeit $2.2 million in assets, pay a $1 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commison, and drop a claim for $8 million in back pay from Enron.

His plea could further complicate the standing of the five remaining defendants in the broadband case. In July, former EBS Chief Executive Officer Ken Rice pleaded guilty to making misleading statements during a Jan. 20, 2000, meeting with analysts where he and others at the company touted the capabilities of Enron's broadband network.

The remaining defendants are Joe Hirko, EBS' former chief executive officer; F. Scott Yeager, former senior vice president of business development; Rex Shelby, former senior vice president of engineering and operations; Kevin Howard, former vice president of finance; and Michael Krautz, former senior accounting director.

The five still headed to trial are scheduled for a hearing before Judge Gilmore on Wednesday. They are expected to discuss motions to move the trial out of Houston and to argue that the government allowed key evidence to be destroyed when Enron auctioned off much of the computer hardware and software that was part of the broadband business.