Ex-Wal-Mart executive faces prison sentence

In an episode that Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott most likely wants to put behind the company, former #2 at Wal-Mart, Thomas Coughlin, will be sentenced today for stealing merchandise, gift cards and money from the global retailer. I guess executive-level pay at the world's largest company just wasn't enough for Coughlin, but this is just another black eye that Wal-Mart has had to face in light of a dizzying array of negative PR that has come its way recently.

Coughlin, who was personally groomed for his position by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, faces a sentence after pleading guilty to five counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. Coughlin faces up to 28 years in prison based on the charges and the conviction. With Coughlin's recent $1+ million salary, it confounds me that this man made such illogical monetary decision to extract fraud from his employer with such minuscule actions (monetarily to him, anyway).

In court in January, Coughlin specifically admitted defrauding the company to pay for the care of his hunting dogs, lease a private hunting area, upgrade his pickup truck, buy liquor and a cooler, and receive $3,100 in cash. All this while Coughlin was making over a million smackers a year as a top Wal-Mart executive. Here's one for a corporate psychology lesson.

Brian White has worked in various executive positions in technology and telecommunications and now focuses on editing and writing.