Economy, Executives | featured news

The former owner of a California tomato processing company was sentenced Tuesday to six years in federal prison for engaging in a price-fixing scam that authorities said involved bribing purchasing managers at food giants including Kraft Foods Inc. and Frito-Lay.

Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of ailing Royal Bank of Scotland, was criticized for keeping his $1 million pension despite a string of ill-timed acquisitions under his reign.

Postmaster General John E. Potter recently warned that economic times are so dire that the U.S. Postal Service may end mail delivery one day a week and freeze executive salaries. He failed to mention that his own total compensation and retirement benefits to more than $800,000 in 2008. That is more than double the salary for President Obama.