Skilling unruly in N.Y.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was taken to a Manhattan hospital early yesterday after several people called police saying he was pulling on their clothes and accusing them of being FBI agents, a police source said.

Police found Mr. Skilling at 4 a.m. at the corner of Park Avenue and East 73rd Street and determined he might be an “emotionally disturbed person,” said the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Mr. Skilling’s attorney said yesterday that Mr. Skilling and his wife called police after they were assaulted by two men who had followed them. Police denied that account.

Police did not charge Mr. Skilling with a crime. They took him to New York Presbyterian Hospital for observation. Hospital officials would say only that Mr. Skilling had been discharged from the hospital yesterday.

Mr. Skilling’s lawyer, Bruce Hiler, said yesterday that Mr. Skilling was never at the two bars police said he visited, American Trash and Vudu Lounge.

The police source said Mr. Skilling ran up to patrons at both the bars and pulled open their clothes.

“He was shouting at them, ’You’re an FBI agent and you’re following me,’” the source said.

Mr. Skilling did the same thing to people on the street, the source added. He was described as being intoxicated and highly uncooperative when he was approached by police.

Mr. Skilling has been charged with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in Enron’s collapse.

He is accused of participating in widespread schemes to mislead regulators and investors about the company’s earnings. He has pleaded not guilty to all 35 federal counts against him, and posted his $5 million bond with a cashier’s check.