CORRECTION: Arch Coal Paid Big Management Bonuses Prior to Bankruptcy

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that former Governor Freudenthal received one of the bonuses. He did not. He simply sold his stock in the company.

The coal industry is facing a host of problems, and given the troubles at companies like Peabody and Arch Coal, you might feel sympathy for owners who are trying to navigate an energy marketplace dominated by cheaper, cleaner natural gas.

In the case of Arch Coal though, the sympathy is tempered by the fact that just before the company declared bankruptcy, the management of the company paid themselves bonuses totaling a reported $8 million, according to a story in our news partners at Wyofile.com.

“A lot of folks could look could look at those and say, ‘well, there’s nothing illegal about them.’ But they sure look crappy.” And Editor Dustin Bleizeffer says, there is a familiar face on that board.

“Former Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal is a board member,” he says, “and it’s not clear exactly how much each board member got, or where those bonuses went.”

Documents show that Freudenthal did not get a bonus in this round, but he disposed of 2,757 “phantom stock” shares just days before the company filed for bankruptcy.

And given that the company just laid off 230 mine workers at their Black Thunder mine and elsewhere, the bonuses were, from the point of view of public perception, particularly tone deaf.

See the full story at Wyofile by clicking HERE…