More WorldCom staff to sing like canaries

But will it stop them becoming jailbirds?

Two more WorldCom execs have pleaded guilty to fraud in the ongoing investigation into the company's accountancy scandal. Troy Normand, director of legal entity accounting, and Betty Vinson, the former director of management reporting, both pleaded guilty to securities fraud. The admissions bring the number of former employees at the bankrupt telco who have pleaded guilty to four. Normand and Vinson join colleagues Buford Yates and David Myers who both pleaded guilty to their parts in the fraud in the last month. The charges facing the four carry maximum sentences totalling 15 years, with potential additional fines of around $1m. By pleading guilty and helping with the ongoing enquiry it is likely the four could greatly reduce these punishments.