This was on the msn home page this morning. I think this is crazy. No way should this guy have gotten this kind of money for so little work. You can't even blame him for the downfall of the bank! No, He's just the guy that sat there for 3 weeks while the bank finished going under. Wow that former CEO got a good deal too! 54 million over 5 years huh? He got 54 million dollars for running Wamu into the ground. I don't even get anywhere near that and I bust my butt at my job! This is why things are as corrupt as they are. I wonder how much of that money they gave to charity..... Probably none.

The best temp gig in history

Congress wants to crack down on CEO mega-salaries for banks participating in the bailout. And while the politicians argue how best to do that, Alan Fishman of Washington Mutual is headed for the doors with $19 million in his pocket.

If that wasn't outrageous enough, consider this: Fishman started the job three weeks ago. I never saw the employment ad Fishman answered, but it must have read something like this:

WANTED: Top executive for train-wreck bank about to be seized by federal regulators. Must be able to look busy while FDIC sells business from under you. Previous experience with angry shareholders sitting on worthless stock a plus. Perks: $7.5 million hiring bonus and $11.6 million cash severance.

Fishman got the best temp gig in history. He gets to keep the bonus and severance pay, though he must stay on the job while JPMorgan Chase completes its purchase of WaMu's banking assets.

To be fair, Fishman wasn't the one that took WaMu down a path lined with toxic mortgages and other bad assets. No, that role belonged to former CEO Kerry Killinger, who received $54 million over five years before leaving earlier this month. He's eligible for around $20 million in severance pay.

Other execs are also cashing in big. President Stephen Rotella gets $12.7 million in cash if he's terminated or quits with "good reason," according to the Portland Business Journal. And CFO Thomas Casey would get a cash severance of $6.3 million.

And WaMu shareholders got huge payments of...oh, wait. The stock is worthless. Shareholders got wiped out. 

Tags: corruption, banks, wamu, sickening

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