REPORT: Freedom Fat Cats Enriched Themselves While Company Burned

Categories: Naranja News
fat-cat.jpg
I'm rich, bitch!
Remember Freedom Corp, the folks who own the OC Register?

Yeah, that Freedom Corp, the one that filed for bankruptcy in September. The one that announced Nov. 2 that its 118-year-old East Valley Tribune is going bye-bye at the end of the year. The company that has been forcibly retiring and laying off just about anyone who isn't named Frank Mickadeit.

Well, according to a Nov. 5 story by the Arizona Capitol Times that was based on figures collected from recent bankruptcy filings, even while all these cut-cutting measures were taking place, Freedom executives paid out nearly $3.7 million in bonuses to--you guessed it--themselves. Freedom CEO Scott Flanders took home $1.1 million in the past year, including one "$400,000 bonus just weeks before the company filed bankruptcy."

What about Register publisher Terry Horne, you ask? He got about $200,000.


Since that's about one-fifth what Flanders gave himself, apparently the logic behind this intrepidly avaricious self-reward system is that the more responsibility you have over the decisions that paved the way for this company to go down the tubes, the more cash you win.

Don't hold your breath waiting to read any news stories or editorials about this in the Register but you can read the entire report over here.

Comments (5)

Jim says:

Interestingly enough, the folks at the OC Register have been hitting local small business owners and selling bunk email lists and seem to have no problems taking the money. Much more difficult to get ahold of when the "product" fails to perform as promised. Impossible to reach about a refund or to answer any concerns that we were ripped-off. Steer clear of these shysters; we made the mistake of believing they were reputable.

Posted On: Friday, Nov. 6 2009 @ 2:30PM
Top Jimmy says:

Any business buying email lists deserves to get ripped off

Posted On: Saturday, Nov. 7 2009 @ 6:35AM
Pinochio says:

The usdc granted a stay Friday of 17 million in payments ordered by the bk court to jp Morgan, the principal lender to freedom. The order was in response to a motion filed by the class of carriers that have an unpaid judgment of 38 million

Posted On: Sunday, Nov. 8 2009 @ 12:38AM
Say it aint so RC. says:

When does it all end for Freedom? Same management at the helm, same old results and apparently a lot of greed!

Posted On: Sunday, Nov. 8 2009 @ 1:51PM
Anonymous says:

Check out the filings at www.loganandco.com

Once into the Freedom docs. go to the Freedom Communications case and click SOFA and look at the $167,000 check they cut to the Ducks Hockey Club for a luxury box.

Check out an expense for $5,673 to Phase II Tire of Laguna Niguel, CA and a charge of $207 to the Moulton Niguel Water Company, the public utility that services Laguna Niguel, where Jon Segal lives on South Peak.

This company is corrupt to the core. Forget their salaries, look at the timing of their bonuses and the amount of expenses they racked up.

Heck, Segal was in the hospital and incapacitated after his motorcycle accident yet he continued to charge expenses to the company.

He said he is "100% sure when the banks take over in March 2010 that he is done at Freedom." Let's hope so along with all the deadwood he has brought along through the years. They know who they are!

Posted On: Monday, Nov. 9 2009 @ 4:57PM

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