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Fired Wal-Mart (WMT) exec Thomas Coughlin faces resentencing

Brian White — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:09:00 EST

Filed under: Management, Law, Wal-Mart (WMT)

In a corporate embarrassment moment that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) probably wants to forget, former and fired executive Thomas Coughlin is in the news again, more than a year after he was found guilty multiple instances of fraud against the world's largest retailer.

Coughlin, who was sentenced to home detention as a result of his fraudulent actions, was not given an adequate sentence in light of his crimes. Therefore, he'll need another sentencing hearing according to an appeals court yesterday.

The established sentence of 27 months home detention and 33 months of additional probation was too light, according to the appeals court. It still amazes me that a 28-year veteran of the world's largest retailer rose to where he was in the company's hierarchy only to see some unbelievably stupid actions cause him to be fired and charged with tax and fraud crimes.

One of the judges on the case dissented with the re-sentencing stance, stating that Coughlin's poor health should dictate that his lenient sentence stand. Should health status or even age determine sentence severity? It can go either way. It did not in Bernie Ebbers' case, although his crimes were of a much more severe nature.

Fired Wal-Mart (WMT) exec Thomas Coughlin faces resentencing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Aug 2007 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wal-Mart's shareholder meeting coming up

Brian White — Wed, 09 May 2007 12:14:00 EST

Filed under: Rumors, Management, Wal-Mart (WMT), Employees

With Wal-Mart Stores' (NYSE: WMT) annual shareholder meeting coming up on June 1st, wouldn't we all like to be there? From the showmanship and grandstanding that Wal-Mart likes to put on to dissing shareholder requests without a modicum of thought (or so it seems), this time more pressing matters should be in focus: where have Wal-Mart sales gone and why is Lee Scott taking home millions while WMT investors have seen little movement in the stock price in half a decade?

The black helicopters will most certainly be in play (watch out for dark sunglasses) inside the shareholder meeting, and tactics straight out of Mission Impossible will be used to make sure any unrest is quelled and the crowd remains passive. Wal-Mart's security apparatus is headed by Kenneth Senser, a onetime senior FBI and CIA official, so expect state-of-the-art surveillance techniques -- at a public company's shareholder meeting. Could there be a clearer picture of "we trust nobody?"

With all the security (Bruce Gabbard), executive (Tom Coughlin) and PR (Julie Roehm) scandals and black eyes, Wal-Mart's growth rate stumbled in 2006 even as revenues rose to a new record (though profits just inched up). The company's international plans are in flux right now and the company's common stock has not beaten the S&P 500 since 2003. Only if you've been long on WMT for more than 10 years have you done well. Do you think there will be quite a few happenings come June 1st? I think so.

Wal-Mart's shareholder meeting coming up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 May 2007 12:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ex-Wal-Mart executive faces prison sentence

Brian White — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 10:49:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Insiders, Internet, Wal-Mart (WMT), Employees

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.

Ex-Wal-Mart executive faces prison sentence originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Aug 2006 10:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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