The case of the unusual general counsel compensation (UST Inc.)

Here’s a real corker. The NY Times, March 4, 2007 at BU 2, opened this one up. UST, which makes smokeless tobacco products as well as wine, disclosed in a regulatory filing that it provided its general counsel, Richard A. Kohlberger, a $4,764 allowance “specifically for buying wine.”

New disclosure rules on perks – anything above $10,000 must be made public – prompted the formerly named United States Tobacco to tell shareholders about the allowance. The award gives new meaning to fully-loaded costs. Ignoring that tasteless pun, it may prove fascinating to see what other kinds of product discounts, gifts in kind, or targeted allowances companies bestow on their general counsel.

Meanwhile, at UST, In vino veritas.