Exxon Exec Loots Company Treasury

I submitted this letter to the Bloomington op-ed page. I think the GOP needs to be out in front of Democrats on this issue to show that as free enterprise advocates we will not tolerate corruption.

op-ed letter:
Lee Raymond, the Chairman of Exxon, recently retired with a retirement benefit worth $400 million. This is such a blatant looting of company assets that it makes a mockery of the value of work. It leads to distrust in the free enterprise system. We hear of these outrages almost every day. The stockholders own the company. These executives are not owners, they are employees. They are hired to manage the company. They are entitled to a salary, not the crown jewels. However, with the collaboration of a corrupt board of directors, the door to the company safe is wide open.

What bothers me as much as the unchecked greed is that these guys can still go around posing as great businessmen and leaders. Their self-serving books are published and they are sought after as paid speakers at Universities and conferences.

The business community, the business press and the public need to take a moral stand… even though these guys beat the legal system we should view them as corrupt and shun them in public life. No TV commentator job, no book offers, no invitation to speak at the IU School of Business.

I read that the club Fed in upstate NY is full of Wall Steet crooks doing easy time...mowing the golf course, etc. 

Corporate Thievery:
The Godfather advised his son that “a lawyer could steal more money with a briefcase than could a hundred men with guns”. In 1995 Disney executive Michael Ovitz was fired after 7 months on the job and received a $140 million termination fee. Shareholders of Disney have filed a suit seeking to recover the fee plus $40 million in interest. Defendants are Ovitz, CEO Michael Eisner , and the Disney board of directors. Eisner and Ovitz were friends for 25 years before he was hired. Eisner then fired his pal after only seven months and handed him $140 million of Disney assets. This does not pass the smell test. Eisner himself has received well over $ 1 billion in compensation as CEO of Disney. I hope the shareholders win their case against these bandits and their co-conspirators on the board of directors. We need to restore confidence and a sense of justice in American corporations.

Published in H-T op-ed. PS: How much is $140M? 2300 people working one year making $60k+ per year. What burns me is that they will get away with it and then go on book tours bragging about their careers...like the GE ex-CEO Jack Welch is doing now.