Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Mermaid Greeters, Awesome Party Favors Potentially at Risk as Tyco Names Outsider as New CFO

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

This past summer we learned that Tyco was still throwing epic parties, despite the best efforts of rank and file accountant Jeff Weist, who couldn’t fathom how scantily-clad mermaids, pirates, wenches, a tattoo artist, fire breather, among other things were legitimate business expenses.

Jeff claimed in a lawsuit that he was fired, more or less, for his integrity and trying to keep Tyco out of trouble, again.

Fast-forward to present day and Christopher Coughlin is retiring as Tyco’s CFO. Rather than promote someone from the inside, presumably letting the good times continue (tone at the top is everything, yo know), the company has appointed Eastman Kodak CFO Frank Sklarsky to take over effective December 1.


Now, if you’re a Tyco employee that happens to be on a regular on these legendary ragers, you’ve got to be concerned. Years of debauchery in exotic locales could be coming to an abrupt halt (right before the holidays!) if the transition doesn’t go right.

However, there is a ray of hope, “Coughlin, 58, who has been Tyco chief financial officer since 2005, will advise the company on some projects until his retirement in 2011.”

So it appears that Chris will have to explain “how we do things at Tyco” to Frank before he hangs it up. Judging by how things have gone at Kodak for the last few years, Sklarsky is probably thrilled to be out of there and maybe willing to play ball the Tyco way. Think of the mermaids, Frank.

Tyco Int’l hires CFO away from Kodak [Reuters]

Related Posts

(UPDATE) Ex-Hospital CFO Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion, Health Care Fraud

In dubious CFO news, Vincent Rubio, the former financial chief at Tustin Hospital and Medical Center, agreed to plead guilty yesterday for paying kickbacks to “marketers” who recruited homeless people from the Skid Row area of Los Angeles.

Rubio pleaded guilty to health care fraud and tax evasion; he was the fifth person to charged in the investigation that is still ongoing. He faces fifteen years in prison After the homeless people were treated, the hospital billed Medicare and Medi-Cal for unnecessary treatments.


The AP piece doesn’t have much to it so we’re got to wondering all sorts of things like: A) Who discovered this fraud? Was it — gasp — the auditors? B) what were these unnecessary treatments? We’re these displaced individuals getting checked for hernias or less intrusive procedures? C) how much was Medicare and Medi-Cal charged? Are we talking Madoff-esque numbers? D) When the homeless were finished up at the hospital did they strap them to a rickshaw and send them back out in the streets or did they try to help them for real?

We called the hospital to find out more and we were connected to a spokesperson, who told us that she could not comment on the matter. She informed us that our message would be relayed to the hospital’s President, James Young. At the time of posting, we had not heard back from him. We’ll update this post with any comment or further information.

Ex-hospital CFO pleads guilty in homeless scam [AP via SF Chronicle]

UPDATE Friday, February 12th: We received the press release from Pacific Health, the owner of the Hospital:

February 11, 2010

Press Release

Pacific Health Corporation learned of the allegation that a third party made improper payments to Vince Rubio on November 30, 2006. Upon receipt of the allegation, Pacific Health Corporation contacted its outside counsel to investigate the allegation.

Within one day of the allegation being received, Pacific Health Corporation took employment action in the matter, placing Mr. Rubio on leave. Within one week, Pacific Health Corporation terminated the employment of Mr. Rubio.

After the completion of the its internal review and taking the employment action, Pacific Health reported the matter to law enforcement officials. That took place in early 2007.

Andy Fastow Is Out of Prison

Technically! He’ll be in a halfway house until later this year (BOP says December 17) but getting out of the big house has to feel good.

However, Drew won’t be able to apply for a position at one of those Chinese companies who are losing CFOs left and right. He still has to get reacquainted with society and whatnot:

“It’s a bridge, if you will, a transition period,” said bureau spokesman Edmond Ross. The purpose of the halfway house is for prisoners to reestablish family ties and adjust to society outside of prison, he said. Prisoners are allowed to leave the facility to go to their jobs, but their movements are still controlled. “They cannot come and go as they please,” said Ross. “Their lives are restricted to the rules of the halfway house.”

First things first, Andy – Twitter account. Oh, and maybe subscribe to our enewsletter.

Enron exec Fastow nears prison release [CNN]

Time Warner Cable CFO Pretty Frank About How Crappy Things Look

That, or Robert Marcus needs a little training in positive spin:

The environment for cable television subscribers is “very, very weak,” according to Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) Chief Financial Officer Robert Marcus, and the company may actually see the total number of subscribers to its television, Internet and telephone services shrink during the current quarter.

The statement, made Wednesday at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference in California, caused Time Warner Cable stock to lose as much as 5.3% in Wednesday afternoon trading immediately after Marcus delivered his opening remarks.

Marcus said August saw the “usual uptick in subscriber performance,” as children went back to college, but unemployment, high vacancy rates in housing and “really anemic new home formation” are “resulting in some pretty weak subscriber numbers.”

Time Warner Cable Stock Sinks After CFO’s Downbeat Remarks [Dow Jones]