Thanks to El Forresto I was moved to report the latest AIG gathering here on slabbed. This latest junket was also evidently a secret per Brian Ross at ABC news:
Even as the company was pleading the federal government for another $40 billion dollars in loans, AIG sent top executives to a secret gathering at a luxury resort in Phoenix last week.
Reporters for abc15.com (KNXV) caught the AIG executives on hidden cameras poolside and leaving the spa at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, despite apparent efforts by the company to disguise its involvement.
“AIG made significant efforts to disguise the conference, making sure there were no AIG logos or signs anywhere on the property,” KNXV reported.
A hotel employee told KNXV reporter Josh Bernstein, “We can’t even say the word [AIG].”
A company spokesperson, Nick Ashooh, confirmed AIG instructed the hotel to make sure there were no AIG signs or mention of the company by staff.
“We’re trying to avoid confrontation, keep our profile low,” said Ashooh. “Some of our employees have been harassed.”
“What do they have to hide,” asked Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) who said he had been promised by AIG CEO Edward Liddy that the company would stop such “junkets.”
“They came to us and said they were drowning and needed help. A person who is drowning doesn’t jump up and start partying,” said Congressman Cummings.
Cummings said Liddy should resign as AIG CEO.
The AIG spokesman said Cummings “was mistaken” about the nature of the Phoenix event.
“It’s terrible,” said former AIG chairman Hank Greenberg. “I don’t think the left hand knows what the right hand is doing there.”
Of course Forrest surmised the real problem at AIG was bad PR thus his suggestion for this public service announcement for AIG:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0deFd_cP_Y]
Sop:
Nice Beastie reference with guest spot by Slayer guitaritst. These guys are complete scumbags (not the Beastie Boys).
AIG just needs to come up with a more politically correct way of rewarding their high performers. There were only 15 at the event and I bet every one of them would have gladly taken a check for their share of cost instead.
I understand their position is that no public funds were involved. What they don’t seem to understand is that they could have borrowed less if they hadn’t spent what they were earning on the event.
It’s called unbridled arrogance.
I see more “unbridled arrogance” in those who think they deserve a share and “ignorant arrogance” in the decisions being made by Treasury.
My personal opinion is AIG is being used to distract public attention from the far worse things that are happening – not that the issues aren’t real but that their is deliberate effort to make them so big we can’t see what else is going on..
I’m convinced that every dime is being spent so quickly that all will soon be gone and the public will still have same problem but no money for meaningful solutions, just debt and a bigger version of the problem.
Richard you know your music well and you probably know Rick Rubin worked with both groups.
I say they keep going with these parties. Might I suggest a CEO style toga party. Just like animal house but you use 6,000 dollar shower curtain to make the toga costumes.
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A $6,000 Dollar Shower Curtain vs. Billions in Your Tax Dollars
In an exclusive prison interview airing today on FOX Business, former TYCO Chairman and CEO Dennis Kozlowski expressed to me confusion and dismay that he has to spend 8-25 years in state prison for grand larceny that included a conviction on misappropriation of company funds adding up to about $150 million dollars while companies like AIG have soaked up hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money for making bad bets.
The FOX Business crew and I arrived yesterday morning at Mid-State Correctional Facility just outside of Utica, NY, to speak with Kozlowski, whose appeal was just rejected by New York
Steve:
Great post and link. Does Rubin still sport the Billy Gibbons/Dusty Hill beard these days (always ironic that Frank Beard was the only ZZ without one)?
I heard there was something about Ed Liddy (formerly CEO of Allstate, now govt.-appointed head of AIG) making some type of large stock transfer that was dated August 29, 2005 (Katrina day). But, I like the toga party idea; there could be young boys whose sole purpose at the party is to feed grapes to the execs.
Liddy had a 10b5-1 on file with SEC. The timing of the trade was otherwise excellent, especially when he appeared on CNBC saying they had reinsurance for losses in Louisiana when in fact they had none……
sop
Liddy should actually be a professional stock trader. He has the ability to pick just the right time to sell out his shares. I really don’t understand why he doesn’t just go into trading stocks full time? Well I guess its harder to pick the top of the market when your not the CEO?
Allstate hit about 64 bucks a share for an all-time high and then tanked down to the mid 20’s right now. Its nice when you sell out during at the all time high and then the stock tanks.
Yes. His dumping on the day Katrina hit should have been the end of his job. Now he’s entering the largest CEO PR nightmare since TYCO and Enron. So his day of testimony in Congress will be coming.
Of course Hank Greenberg is the King of CEO shareholder theft—He sold billions of dollars of shares before AIG crashed. He even filed a plan for hedging some of his AIG holdings (with the SEC )shortly after he left the company. He could have easily shorted the stock prior to its crash and be sitting on a bill of money so high you can only hope he falls off…
23-Apr-07 154,090 ALL Sale at $62.15 per share.
(Proceeds of $9,576,693)
23-Apr-07 395,895 ALL Disposition (Non Open Market) at $62.13 – $62.13 per share.
(Value of about $24,597,000)
22-Feb-07 4,684 ALL Disposition (Non Open Market) at $61.83 – $61.83 per share.
(Value of about $290,000)
15-Feb-07 26,519 ALL Disposition (Non Open Market) at $61.71 – $61.71 per share.
(Value of about $1,636,000)
7-Dec-06 620,600 ALL Automatic Sale at $63.85 – $63.95 per share.
(Proceeds of about $39,656,000)
Rubin? All I know about Rubin these days is he keeps on getting more and more music awards. He is really unusual in his look. But it seems every artist he touches comes up witht their greatest work ever. Many artist have albums, like Slayer, which seem to set the standard for their style of music. I wonder if he feels pressure to keep it up(which he has done for 20 years it seems) or if he just keeps doing what he likes doing? I’d say he’s changed music more than anyone and yet he really never gets out infront of the camera so to say. Guys amazing.
I just noticed this on the latest filings over at Allstate—
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has initiated a multi-state examination of Allstate