Sausage, Celine could cost Wal-Mart boss big-time

February 2, 2006 at 09:55 AM

Sausage, Celine could cost Wal-Mart boss big-time after he sings to judge
February 02, 2006

THOMAS Coughlin, the former vice-chairman of Wal-Mart, faces a maximum jail sentence of 28 years and a $US1.35 million ($1.8 million) fine, after pleading guilty to fiddling his expenses to buy items as diverse as a 12-gauge shotgun, a Celine Dion CD and a large Polish sausage.

The guilty plea brings to an end the bizarre case in which Coughlin, a former close friend of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, claimed to have been involved in a covert anti-union spying operation designed by the giant retailer.

Coughlin resigned as the No2 executive at the world's biggest retailer in March last year after it was revealed that he had used about $US500,000 worth of company gift cards to buy items for himself, while claiming the cards were to be given to employees as bonuses.

It was also alleged that Coughlin had claimed for thousands of dollars worth of expenses for other personal items, such as three 12-bore shotguns that cost $US1000, a rifle case for more than $US100 and a bottle of vodka.

Coughlin said last year that the expenses claims had been allowed by Wal-Mart to pay him in kind for running the spying operation.

The plot was hatched, he alleged, to usurp any plans by Wal-Mart employees to organise under a trade union.

Unions are not encouraged at Wal-Mart, but many workers' organisations and public advocacy groups have criticised the company and made claims that it enforces an illegal union ban. Wal-Mart denies such claims.

The claims that the company had authorised an anti-union spying policy were also strenuously denied by Wal-Mart and it seems were abandoned by Coughlin during months of plea-bargain talks with authorities. Coughlin, 56, arrived at court in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with his wife, Cynthia, to enter his guilty pleas. Each wire fraud count he faces carries a possible sentence of five years in prison and a $US250,000 fine. The tax evasion charge facing him carries a possible sentence of three years in prison and a $US100,000 fine.

Sentencing is expected to take place in about three months. However, federal sentencing guidelines suggest that Coughlin should serve no more than two years in jail for the crimes he committed.

It is also believed that prosecutors have recommended a more lenient sentence after Coughlin agreed to co-operate with them and plead guilty.

The former Wal-Mart executive, who has a library named after him in the company's hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, expressed his regret. "Today I accepted responsibility for serious personal mistakes in judgment," he said. "This was not an easy decision. I regret the embarrassment this matter has caused my family and friends and I thank them for their support, love and friendship. I am glad to put this matter to an end."