Former Westar Exec gets big payday: Kansans get screwed

I wrote here before about how the two executives at Westar, over in Topeka, cleaned house, money-wise, over there and took such gross advantage of both the company and their customers.

Now, further proof positive that crime does pay.

At least it does if it's white collar crime:

Former Westar exec Lake to receive $21 million

A former executive at the largest electrical utility in Kansas will receive more than $26 million in compensation and attorney fees in a settlement reached at arbitration.

Under the settlement announced Friday, Douglas Lake will receive $21 million in unpaid compensation and $5.3 million in attorney fees.

Lake was the former top strategy officer at Topeka-based Westar Energy. He and former CEO David Wittig were forced out in 2002 and indicted by a federal grand jury in 2003 on charges they conspired to inflate their compensation.

A first trial ended in a hung jury in 2004. They were convicted in a second trial in 2005, but an appeals court in Denver threw out the convictions.

They were awaiting a third trial when charges against them were dismissed last August.

For a refresher course on these 2 clowns and their thievery, go here:

Mo Rage: Great NYT article on "The Enron of Kansas" or "The ...

And/or here:

Mo Rage: The Fleecing of Westar (and Kansas): 1, 2, 3, Part II 

So let that be a lesson to us all.

If you're going to steal, go big or don't go at all.

Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/14/2874918/former-westar-exec-lake-to-receive.html