Why busines sexecs need those big bucks

By Lee Russ

Thursday, June 29, 2006 at 02:06 PM

Big business executives earn enough money annually to choke the proverbial horse.  It's easy to get mad at them and the foolish corporate Boards that approve these ludicrous payments, but I think we've discovered that these execs actually do need this much money.  If "need" is defined as loosely as our fearless president defines "success," that is.

Brazilian woman says US execs paid for sex: prosecutor

A Brazilian woman accused of running a high-priced brothel in New York City pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to prostitution, money laundering and drug possession, but told police she had sex for money with two high profile U.S. executives over several years.

Accused madame Andrea Schwartz, 31, named Wayne Pace, chief financial officer of the world's largest media company Time Warner, and Robert Voccola, chief investment officer at Barrett Associates, a unit of Legg Mason, as two men with whom she had sex for cash, according to statements attributed to police by the Manhattan District Attorney's office and given to reporters on Wednesday.

Money management firm Barrett Associates suspended Voccola pending an internal investigation, Chief Operating Officer Russ Vernon told Reuters on Wednesday.

"I got up to $200K ($200,000) between 2001 and 2004 from just one guy who worked for AOL in cash, mortgage payments and checks and other things," Schwartz is quoted as saying in the statements, referring to Pace.
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On Tuesday, Time Warner said its own investigation turned up "no evidence of illegal conduct by Mr. Pace or any misuse of corporate assets" in connection to the Schwartz case.

Reason number two for the big bucks: Bribes

Scrushy, Siegelman found guilty on federal conspiracy, bribery charges

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman has been found guilty on 10 of 34 counts in a federal corruption trial, including bribery, conspiracy and eight counts of mail fraud. Siegelman's conspiracy conviction did not include a guilty verdict under the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, statute.

Former HealthSouth Corp. CEO Richard Scrushy, accused of buying his way onto the state's Certificate of Need review board, was convicted on all six charges he faced, including bribery, conspiracy and four counts of mail fraud.
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Scrushy was accused of arranging $500,000 in donations to a campaign committee for Siegelman in exchange for a seat on the state's certificate of need review board, the regulatory body that determines bed capacity at existing health-care facilities and approves construction requests for new facilities based on demonstrated demand.

Reason number three for the big bucks: How else would they know they are special

No cite for this one, just common sense.  Picture the last three corporate executives you saw in person, or that you got a real good, lengthy look at if you haven't seen them in person.  Characterize the look, the attitude, the body language.  Does the word humility come to mind?  Done laughing yet?  Okay, how about the word arrogant?  How about the phrase "arrogant sociopath?"