Orange County Register

Yowsa! Friday, a powerful Congressional committee demanded that American International Group cough up an exhaustive inventory of potentially mortifying documents, including:

• A list of all conferences, events or retreats paid for by AIG, its subsidiaries, or affiliates from Jan. 1, 2008 to the present;
• Documents showing how much each event cost, including lodging, transportation, food, drink and other charges;
• A list of any similar conferences, events or retreats planned for the next six months;
• And much, much more.

Waxman

Rep. Henry A. Waxman’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has already grilled AIG on its subsidiary’s $443,344 retreat for top-performing independent insurance agents at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, just weeks after the federal government’s $85 billion bailout of AIG (originally reported by yours truly).

But since then, a steady stream of post-bailout outrages has come to light, including:

• a party for 820 at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington D.C. four days after the bailout (originally reported by yours truly as well);
• a partridge-hunting trip to England for top executives, costing some $85,000.
• generous bonuses paid to executives, even as AIG was cratering.

Liddy

Waxman’s letter to AIG CEO Edward M. Liddy notes that executives said they would “absolutely” not have approved the St. Regis retreat if they had known about it beforehand, and that AIG was “reevaluating the costs of all aspects of our operations in light of the new circumstances.”

Perhaps they should reevaluate their reevaluation?

AIG has four weeks to provide the exhaustive list of documents and information to Waxman’s committee (which is the principal oversight committee in the House of Representatives). AIG’s deadline is Friday, November 14.

Waxman isn’t the only one cracking down on AIG. New York’s attorney general threatened Thursday to take action against AIG unless generous executive bonuses and other costs were recovered.

Waxman’s entire letter to AIG can be found here  (the text is also pasted below).

Really looking forward to seeing this stuff!

More Watchdog:

• AIG’s “outrageous expenditures” cause more trouble
• AIG subsidiary parties in style in OC, two weeks after bailout
• AIG’s St. Regis blowout bill: $443,344
• Saturday Night Live skewers AIG excesses
• Obama on AIG’s $400,000 party: ‘Fire the scoundrels!’
• Yet another AIG subsidiary parties hearty days after bailout
• Cartoon zinger lampoons AIG bailout
• Prez didn’t push for bailout so execs could get facials
• Behind the AIG party: A look at the St. Regis

“In response to reports that AIG spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on extravagant employee events after receiving an $85 billion rescue package, Chairman Waxman requested a detailed listing of all conferences, events, or retreats paid for by AIG this year as well as bonuses paid to AIG executives.

 
October 17, 2008

Mr. Edward M. Liddy
Chief Executive Officer
American International Group, Inc.
70 Pine Street
New York, NY 10270

Dear Mr. Liddy:

I am writing to request additional information and documents as part of the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the federal rescue of the American International Group and its connection to the ongoing financial crisis.

During the Committee’s hearing on October 7, 2008, witnesses were asked about a week-long conference held at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort approximately one week after the Treasury Department agreed to spend $85 billion to save AIG from collapse. Your predecessor, former CEO Robert Willumstad, told the Committee that the charges of $200,000 for rooms, $23,000 for spa services, and $7,000 on greens fees seemed “very inappropriate” and that he “absolutely” would not have approved them. His predecessor, former CEO Martin Sullivan, testified that, “if I’d have seen bills like that, I can assure you as the CEO I would’ve been asking questions.” The next day, you sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson explaining that although this retreat was “standard practice in our industry,” you were “reevaluating the costs of all aspects of our operations in light of the new circumstances in which we are all operating.”

Since then, there have been reports that AIG may have paid for other similar events held after receiving access to $85 billion in taxpayer funds, such as an event on September 20, 2008, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington, D.C., with over 800 people and a hunting trip in England for AIG executives that reportedly cost $85,000. Yesterday, you and the New York Attorney General announced that AIG would be cancelling over 160 conferences and events.

To assist the Committee in investigating this issue, I ask that AIG provide the Committee with a listing of all conferences, events, or retreats paid for by AIG, its subsidiaries, or affiliates from January 1, 2008, to the present, along with documents sufficient to show the charges paid for each conference, event, or retreat, including lodging, transportation, food, drink, and other charges. I also ask that you provide a listing of any similar conferences, events, or retreats planned for the next six months.

In addition, I ask that you provide the Committee with additional information and documents relating to the actions taken by Joseph Cassano, the head of AIG’s Financial Products Division; bonus payments made to AIG executives; and the use of funds provided by the federal government to date. Specifically, I request that you provide to the Committee:

1. All documents and communications, including e-mails, sent, received, or reviewed by Joseph Cassano, William Kolbert, Pierre Micottis, or Doug Poling during the two-year period ending on October 15, 2008;

2. All documents relating to the weekly “Global Conference Calls” conducted by AIG’s Financial Products Division, including presentations, transcripts, minutes, and audio recordings, for the two-year period ending on October 15, 2008;

3. A listing of all compensation and perquisites provided to Mr. Cassano from 2000 to the present, other than salary and cash bonus information previously provided to the Committee;

4. For each of the following groups, the number of employees in each group; the total amount of base salary paid to each group annually from January 1, 2006, to the present; and the total amount of non-base salary cash compensation (e.g., cash bonus or other incentive payments) paid to each group annually from January 1, 2006, to the present:

a. All employees of AIG, its subsidiaries, and its affiliates;

b. Participants in AIG’s Partners Plan;

c. Participants in AIG’s Senior Partners Plan; and
d. Employees of the Financial Products Division;

5. The total amount of funds received from the Federal Reserve through the $85 billion credit facility agreement announced on September 16, 2008, and the $37.2 billion securities lending agreement announced on October 8, 2008.

6. A detailed description of the uses of the funds identified in response to question 8, including the identities of any counterparties to which funds were provided for collateral or other purposes, the date the funds were provided to the counterparties, and the amount of the funds involved.

Please provide these documents and information to the Committee by Friday, November 14, 2008.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee in the House of Representatives and has broad oversight jurisdiction as set forth in House Rule X. An attachment to this letter provides additional information on how to respond to the Committee’s request.

If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Roger Sherman or Michael Gordon of the Committee staff at (202) 225-5051.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman
Chairman

Enclosure

cc: Tom Davis
Ranking Minority Member

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