The total projected payout of bonuses for AIG employees in the company’s Wilton-based financial products unit for 2008 and 2009 is closer to $451 million, as
opposed to a previous estimate of $218 million, and there may be additional payouts in 2010, state lawmakers said today.
State Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and Rep. Ryan Barry (D-Manchester), co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Banks Committee, announced those findings after combing through new documents and testimony provided a day earlier by AIG.
The Democratic lawmakers said that number could be reduced if more AIG executives resign from the company, but that it is a significant enough increase for them to continue their investigation into AIG, which has received $182 billion in taxpayer money.
“Documentation provided indicates that executives put on a personal life vest in the first quarter of 2008 when they knew the ship was starting to sink,” Duff and Barry said in a joint statement.
The continued investigation will concentrate largely on the Connecticut labor law, which AIG used as an excuse to pay out the bonuses.
“It is our hope that this review will bring about proposals for future changes in our law, some of which may be pending, acknowledging that any change would not have a retroactive affect but would protect taxpayer interests in the future,” Duff and Barry said.
“We will also ask the attorney general to conduct a legal review of … portions of our law in terms of insolvent companies,” they added.
Duff and Barry also said that Thursday’s investigative hearing, which featured Stephen Blake, head of human resources for AIG’s financial products division, helped them uncover new facts about the bonuses paid to AIG employees. The revelations include that payouts also went to employees who were fired or resigned. They said those bonuses would fall outside the Connecticut Wage Act.
Republican lawmakers criticized Democrats and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal for holding the hearing and issuing subpoenas — calling the entire process a waste of time.
