10 insanely overpaid public employees

From The Fiscal Times

Basketball coach

Earnings: $1,200,000

Where: SUNY Binghamton, NY

Kevin Broadus

Kevin Broadus, who had a five-year $1 million contract, was let go from his job as head coach for little-known SUNY Binghamton men’s 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

C. Kern Wildenthal

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

Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa Photo: The University of Texas System

 
Even with budget cuts, Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa hasn’t 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

Photo of a clinic inside a prison

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 it’s 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

Joker from the movie “Dark Knight” Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

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.

Read the complete list from The Fiscal Times.