AIG lawyer: Ex-top exec plundered retirement plan

[laststeamtrain]

Source: AP

AIG lawyer: Ex-top exec plundered retirement plan
By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer – 6 mins ago


NEW YORK – The former top executive of American International Group Inc. plundered an AIG retirement program of billions of dollars because he was angry at being forced out of the company, a lawyer for AIG told jurors Monday at the start of a civil trial.

Attorney Theodore Wells told the jury in Manhattan that former AIG Chief Executive Officer Maurice "Hank" Greenberg improperly took $4.3 billion in stock from the company in 2005, after he was ousted by the company amid investigations of accounting irregularities.

"Hank Greenberg was mad. He was angry," Wells said in U.S. District Court of the emotional state of the man who, over a 35-year-career, built AIG from a small company into the world's largest insurance provider. He said the saga is a story of "anger, betrayal and cover-up."

Wells said that Greenberg, within weeks of being forced out in mid-2005, gave the go-ahead for tens of millions of shares to be sold from a trust fund. The fund was set up to provide incentive bonuses to a select group of AIG management and highly compensated employees that they would receive upon their retirement.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090615/ap_on_bi_ge/us_aig_trial

[Beetwasher]

1. Prison

Period. What a fucking scumbag.

[mudplanet]

3. The fund was set up to provide incentive bonuses to a select group of AIG management and highly comp

"The fund was set up to provide incentive bonuses to a select group of AIG management and highly compensated employees that they would receive upon their retirement."

Couldn't of happened to a nicer bunch of guys.

[Beetwasher]

8. Doesn't make it ok

Not as bad as I first though though. That'll learn me not to skim too quickly.

[Lenomsky]

13. Oh I agree

Just found it funny :)
182 Billion in aid too .. madness!!

[Bandit]

14. They still got their bonuses but we paid for them instead.

:shrug:

[Indenturedebtor]

32. And they fired him haha. Can you imagine pillaging your CEO's retirement

after he/she fired you.

Not saying it's right... cause it's not. But it's damn funny :rofl:

Taste of their own forkin medicine says I :applause:

[saigon68]

35. And YET this scumbag is on MSNBC 24/7

They (the talking heads) cower and fawn over this criminal hoodlum and hooligan with the white collar.

[Wizard777]

38. Except Obama is really soft on abuses of power He'll thoroughly condemn it.......

before totally ignoring it. It's more important to move forward. That brings us closer to that one day we'll reach that fairytale land where we no longer need honor, integrity and laws. Excuse me I need to go sing Kumbayah, hug a tree, and :puke:

[roguevalley]

42. when I have a tantrum, I eat chocolate. What a douchebag. Jail. Now.

[Thor_MN]

2. incentive bonuses to a select group of AIG management and highly compensated employees?

What? Executives won't get bonuses at retirement? Yawn....

[Flabbergasted]

29. That sums it up. A rich guy stole from other rich guys. nt

[glitch]

43. And then American taxpayers made up the difference.nt

[mr1956]

4. I have no sympathy for the so-called "victims"

If Mr. Greenberg loses and must return the money, it should go directly into the US Treasury. These guys already got there bonuses from the taxpayer bailout. Not that the judge or jury will ever hear that though.

[Skink]

5. How did he do that after being forced out?

Attorney Theodore Wells told the jury in Manhattan that former AIG Chief Executive Officer Maurice "Hank" Greenberg improperly took $4.3 billion in stock from the company in 2005, after he was ousted by the company amid investigations of accounting irregularities.

[FreakinDJ]

6. What about all the "Un-Funded" retirement plans

GM
Westinghouse
GE
United Airlines

It has been a "Free For All" for corp execs to raid the funds of hard working Blue Collar American workers. Now because a select group a cushie insider traders has their fund raided they want the US Government to sit up and take action.

Make it a crime to divert, sell off, or raid ALL retirement funds

[truedelphi]

33. There's a thought. But how would we get our hard working

Congress critters out from their lunches with lobbyists, travel junkets paid for by lobbyists, and other assorted luxury activities, in order to come in and put together a bill that protects the working class stiffs?

[Beetwasher]

7. Delete

[Jack Rabbit]

9. Gee, that really makes me mad

Photo: Schmier Grafx.de (Germany)

[xchrom]

10. this is who our government has turned the reins of power over to.

now you can wish that is was different what with the election of a dem and all that.

but this is really it in a nut shell.

you are not represented by those you walk into a booth and vote for -- you ruled by characters like this.

it is now incumbent on those in power to continuously convince you that it's the ONLY way things can be.

[katty]

11. "HE was ANGRY.." ??!!! STFU!

[Lenomsky]

12. Kick it and mend

"gave the go-ahead for tens of millions of shares to be sold from a trust fund. The fund was set up to provide incentive bonuses to a select group of AIG management and highly compensated employees"

Play on .. Excellent selection :)

[TygrBright]

15. Oh, oh, oh. I am surprised. I am so surprised.

I thought all those people were honest and nice.

Oh, oh, oh.

I am surprised.

ironically,
Bright

[Amonester]

16. Now, I AM angry!

So, what do I get?

Oh, and WE THE PEOPLE ARE angry! :mad:

So, what do WE get?

[pjt7]

17. Riping off his own companies retirment fund, Starting the derivative

market which wrecked America.. what else did this traitor do to us??????????????

[pjt7]

19. Can a guy as rich as Grenneberg & as well known

ever go to jail in America $$??$$?

[Jeep789]

18. Facts are murky

It is unclear what the funds were for or who owned them.

[Sancho]

20. torture!

:grr: :nuke: :grr: :nuke: :grr: :nuke:

I just moved my AIG stuff...lost about a third. Damn crooks.

[pjt7]

21. What do you guy's think about this article

on Mo Greenberg's 9.11 connections?

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1261.shtml

[MadMaddie]

22. How does this company that deals in $$$ not have

checks and balances to prevent this sort of thing from happening.

These are the exact reasons why AIG should have been allowed to fail, they along with the other companies that have been bailed out. They had bad business policies which led to their failure, small companies don't have that luxury to get bailed out.

[rasputin1952]

23. It is the sheer arrogance of these people that bring the scorn upon them...

they shold be paraded through the streets...after their funds have been confiscated and used to buy healthcare for the poor...then...tar and feathers to be handed out to the masses. Rails are pretty cheap too...;)

[AngryAmish]

24. Every Rethug that ever spoke with Greenberg shoulg go to jail with him

[GoesTo11]

25. AIG wants to get paid back in cash, not in the AIG shares he sold

He sold them for $4.3B, now they're probably worth $100M. So AIG is suing him not to get the shares back for what they're worth today, but to get back what they were worth in 1985. That's to put a whole lot more money in the pile for exec bonuses. These bastards plundered my retirement fund. Let them get their shares back, but at current prices so that their bonuses will be based on their performance.

Until then, cry me a river.

[Flatulo]

26. And our prisons are filled with poor bastards who had a few oz of weed...

What a fucked-up bunch we have become.

Anyone want to bet this fucker gets away with this?

[saigon68]

36. Well, he's living LARGE right now

[Faryn Balyncd]

27. Send the son of a bitch to Levinworth.

He's already stolen the good name of a baseball legend. Now this.

[juno jones]

28. How many millions of dollars does one human need? n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

37. That's an easy one.

One million more than he/she has.

[glitch]

44. Humans don't even need a million. Or a half or even a quarter million.

These guys need to have more millions than anybody else.

[LarryNM]

30. Sharks

The sharks devouring each other in an unregulated free market cesspool. Hope some get the message. No offense intended for the sea creatures of the same name.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

31. we bailout AIG, AIG donates to congress, We get NOTHING

but f'd up

[mdmc]

34. "plundered" "improperly" BUT was it illegal?

Otherwise STFU and steal more money from the taxpayers for your overpaid bonusususus

[Rex]

39. Sorry but I don't care about rich assholes that waste money on things

of material wealth. Send anyone who breaks the law to jail, that is what happens to us ordinary folks.

[laylah]

40. oh my...

how conveeeeeeeeeniet:sarcasm:

edited to add that would be "conveeeeeeeeeeeeeenient"

[liberation]

41. Maybe we should set a deserted island and send a significant portion of our psychotic business class

over there?

Then they can live in their economic Valhalla, an empire heralded by a lord of the flies in a dog eat dog society... these assholes love so much. They can steal from each other, they can backstab at will, abuse, cheat... in fact, this island doesn't even have to be a prison system. Advertise all that, and these assholes will flock willingly, just say a small white lie, like I dunno... the island is full of wealthy, hardworking natives, waiting for some overlords to take over them to live the rest of their lives in blissful abuse.

We can make a mint, I tell you!