Insanely Overpaid Public Employees

Basketball coach Earnings: $1,200,000 Where: SUNY Binghamton, NY Kevin Broadus, who had a five-year $1 million contract, was let go from his job as head coach for little-known SUNY Binghamton mens basketball team in 2009 over an ethics scandal. He sued the school for discrimination, and received a 1.2 million buyout to drop the suit. Taxpayers got to pick up all the legal bills too. In June, Broadus was hired as an assistant coach at Georgetown, where he has worked previously. Hospital Rainmaker Earnings: $841,557 Where: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Retiring from his position as head of the medical center at UT Southwestern in 2008, C. Kern Wildenthal now devotes most of his time and effort to philanthropic pursuits for the medical center as "assistant to the president for community affairs," according to a press release. With $841,557 earnings in 2010, the university must have been feeling philanthropic towards him, as well. Chancellor Earnings: $813,892 Where: University of Texas System Even with budget cuts, Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa hasnt given up his fat salary. The total cost to employ Cigarroa in 2009 was $813,892, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Prison Doctor Earnings: $784,596 Where: High Desert State Prison, CA Jeffrey W. Rohlfing works at an overcrowded, 4,000-plus inmate facility in the middle of the California desert. The $784,596 figure includes overtime, bonuses, and other compensation, in addition to salary, but its quite a jump from 2004 when Rohlfing earned a mere $132,854. The pay hike is especially surprising since Rohlfing was put on probation for five years in 1997 after being found guilty of unprofessional conduct and impairment due to mental illness. Prison Psychiatrist Earnings: $737,057 Where: Stockton, California Even in prison, shrinks rake it in. Of the $737,057 that Fong Lai received in 2010, $594,976 was for more than 2 1/2 years worth of unused sick time when he left the job in 2010. Still, in the last full year he worked, his base salary was $224,306 in addition to overtime pay of $72,308. CEO and vice president hospital affairs Earnings: $721,043 Where: Stonybrook Hospital, NY Running a university hospital makes Steven Strongwater the fourth-highest paid employee in the state, earning six times what a physician at the hospital makes. He was hired in 2006, after a long career as a hospital administrator. Prison Dentist Earnings: $621,971 Where: Avenal State Prison, CA Filling inmates cavities can pay off. Timothy Malan earned $621,971 in 2009, although more than half of that was from accrued leave he received in one lump when he left the department. If he blows that in one fell swoop, he can always rely on his pension, which according to a prison spokesperson, is 42 percent of his highest years base salary, or about $140,429 per year for the rest of his life. Chancellor Earnings: $560,038 Where: City University of New York As CUNY deals with $205 million in budget cuts, and Chancellor Matthew Goldstein proposes raising tuition on some 533,000 students in the system, he maintains earnings of $560,000.

Chief Investment Officer Earnings: $480,000 Where: Teacher Retirement System, TX A former hedge fund manager for Bridgewater Associates, Thomas Britton Harris IV, is used to living the good life, and maintains his Wall Street-level pay to manage the teachers public pension in Texas. Executive Director Earnings: $343,608 Where: Citizens Property Insurance Corp., FL (Floridas public insurance provider) As public insurance premiums rise for homeowners in Florida, so do executives earnings. Scott Wallace was paid a base wage of $343,608 in 2009, one of the highestpaid employees in the state. Even homeowners who choose to insure their property with a private insurer are helping fund Wallaces wage, paying a 1.4 percent fee on their premiums to cover Citizen's shortfalls after Hurricane Katrina.