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David Stanley Ford

Amid bonus outrage, employees live in fear
Death threats have prompted AIG to boost security

The Associated Press    Comments Comment on this article10
Published: March 21, 2009


People walk on the sidewalk Friday to protest executives’ bonuses and the federal bailout in front of the AIG offices in Washington. AP Photo

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Pillars of the community are now pariahs fearing for their safety in a ritzy area of Connecticut home to many executives at American International Group Inc., hit with a backlash over bonuses it paid to top brass even as it accepted federal bailout money.

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The payouts to executives appear to have helped put a face on the economic struggles the country faces, and the anger targeting AIG is palpable. Death threats have been pouring in since the brouhaha broke, the company said, and its workers are taking no chances.

"It’s scary,” one executive said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution. "People are very, very nervous for their security.”

The financial products division is in Wilton in Fairfield County, and many of the company’s leaders live in large homes on the "Gold Coast,” an area known more for golf courses and sweeping views of Long Island Sound than for the police cars that now regularly patrol the well-kept streets.

Corporate officials advised employees in a memo posted on Gawker.com to avoid wearing the company logo, in an effort to keep from drawing attention. Workers also were urged to travel in pairs at night and park in well-lit areas.

And typifying the preoccupation with the AIG payouts, a busload of activists plans to drive by executives’ houses today in an attempt to deliver letters highlighting the strife of ordinary families in the recession and seeking solutions for economic recovery.

AIG said Friday that at least three executives who received bonuses planned to return the money, including James Haas and Doug Poling, both residents of Fairfield County.

What are the threats?
"However someone may feel about the appropriateness of the retention payments, there is nothing appropriate about the threats that people have made to and about employees,” company spokesman Mark Herr said in a statement. Haas and Poling have not responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

The Polings help out charities including a homeless shelter, theaters and a school, according to The Connecticut Post. At the house, a large white Colonial on a cul-de-sac with all the trappings of suburban prosperity — green shutters, a wood-shingled roof and an invisible fence for dogs — a police car pulled up Friday afternoon and talked to a security guard.

Officer Joe Kalson said that he drives by two or three times a day as of late and that other officers patrol the area, as well.

Organizers of the bus protest noted that there are no plans to trespass and that only a small group planned to get off the bus at each stop.

The protest is an attempt to let people suffering from loss of jobs or homes tell their stories directly to AIG executives, said organizer Jon Green, director of Connecticut Working Families, a coalition of labor unions and other groups.

Security companies in New York say the financial crisis has created brisk business in everything from bomb-sniffing dogs to bodyguards for executives. The firms didn’t want to identify the companies for security reasons.

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David Stanley Ford


Related Topics: Domestic Policy, Political Policy, Politics, Economic Policy, Financial Rescue Plans


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The Bush Administration is guilty of the Walstreet bailout, not Obama. Although Obama did support it. If we are going to live in a capitalist society, we should stay true to the concept! Bad management decisions, business loosed money... business goes under. Our government has proven it can't manage money or business and now they are trying to keep these corporations afloat. I don't agree with the death threats or targeting AIG employees in general. However, it's about time people stand up for something in this country. We have been acting like sheep for too long.
Jess, Warr Acres - Mar 21, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore Jess
stinkerpants, so you're saying it's ok to threaten their lives? How can you condone that? The bonuses were completely wrong, but these people didn't write them into their contracts, Obama's boys gave the bonuses to them. The Obama Nation is out of control.
UnSub, Yukon - Mar 21, 2009 at 9:40 am
I have never taken that stance, and I will not. Don't generalize and categorize.
Nathan, Norman - Mar 21, 2009 at 9:05 am
Brock blames Democrats--but not the people who took the bonuses? What's up with that? Perhaps Brock's erudition on the subject of belies his humble desk at the Ford dealership overlooking the windswept, tumble-weed strewn streets of Beaver. His insight into the AIG transactions raises the level of discourse to such that only the sharpest Hannity or Limbaugh listeners can track it. No wonder he's being sought after the plumb position of CEO of the Beaver cow-chip-throwing contest.
stinkerpants, Oklahoma City - Mar 21, 2009 at 9:05 am
The same people, who defend these bonuses as contractual, are the same people who demanded that the UAW rip up their contracts before they got bailout money. Why is a contract with an executive more important than a contract with a union worker? The people at AIG caused this problem and now they get bonuses but the workers for our auto companies, that did their job everyday get nothing. How is this right?
Mr. G, Midwest City - Mar 21, 2009 at 9:02 am
What's sad is that people don't realize that these contractually obligated bonuses were put in place long before the recession started. The death threats and rallys are done by ignorant people (not to be mean, but literally lacking knowledge) that have no concept of working as an executive or high ranking official where lucrative contracts are the norm. I am not an executive myself, but I can do some research on a situation before I threaten someone's life.
Nathan, Norman - Mar 21, 2009 at 8:17 am
Our federal government(most notably Democrats) in a complete invasion of privacy, pushing the "class envy" game pitting Americans against Americans. The Connecticut Working Families party, which has support from organized labor(DEMOCRATS), is planning a bus tour of AIG executives’ homes on Saturday. Angry Mobs targeting employees who were doing nothing but their job. There are kids involved, there have been death threats. Most of these people didn't have anything to do with the credit problems and most have said they would rescind their retention contract. They've been told by security not to leave the building when there is demonstration outside, not to use their business ID for any purpose, not to confront people outside their homes, and perhaps take their children out of school for a short period. The public's anger is coming from a result of someone else's agenda and just bad facts period. The so-called bonuses were just payments that had been promised long ago to workers, including technical and administrative assistants, but that didn't matter to Democrats. After causing the whole mess, our government is sitting idly by while angry mobs, brought on by lies and deceit from the US Congress, targeting private citizens who in no possible way could do the damage to this country that the elected officials in Washington are in the process of doing. It's like Nazi Germany in the early 30's. Thanks Democrats!
Brock, Beaver - Mar 21, 2009 at 8:14 am
Socialism at work. Villify anyone who makes more than the status quo. This is just the beginning. Sure, most of these guys didn't deserve it (thus many have given it back), but there are a LOT of employees at a lot of companies that have done their job well and brought in significant revenue. There is a lot of difference between an exectuive making 3 mil per year and a hard working sales associate that is earning 250-300K (household income, not on his own). Our sad government is looking to tax them on the same level? Might not hurt the executive but the sales rep would jump ship immediately. In sales, much of the income is structured as a "bonus". Tax that anywhere near 90% and it's just not worth it.
Steve, Edmond - Mar 21, 2009 at 7:41 am
Eat the rich !!!
mister, bogata - Mar 21, 2009 at 6:57 am
Could this be the Liberal machine at work? Smoke and mirrors. The pea under the shell game.
citizen, Edmond - Mar 21, 2009 at 12:34 am

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