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Fired Wal-Mart executive turns spotlight on bosses

A senior Wal-Mart executive fired for breaching ethics policies has turned the tables on her former employer and accused the chief executive, Lee Scott, of doing the same thing.

In a lawsuit made public on Saturday, the former marketing chief, Julie Roehm, accused Scott and other executives of accepting gifts and discounts on items such as yachts and diamonds from suppliers and other businesses.

latest blow

The suit was the latest damaging blow to Wal-Mart's public image. The retail chain has struggled over labor relations and faced opposition from businesses and community groups who claim it crushes smaller firms.

For a company that prides itself on the homespun ethics of its founder, Sam Walton, Wal-Mart also found itself embarrassingly embroiled in another scandal last year when its former vice-chairman, Thomas Coughlin, admitted fiddling his expenses to buy almost US$500,000 worth of goods.

Roehm was fired in December amid claims she had accepted gifts from an advertising agency that she later hired. She was also accused of misusing a company travel fund to pay for trips with a colleague, with whom she was alleged to have been romantically involved.

In court papers filed in Detroit, Michigan, Roehm said Scott had received "preferential prices" on yachts and a "large pink diamond for his wife" through his relationship with businessman Irwin Jacobs. Jacobs' company has a deal to buy unsold Wal-Mart merchandise. Scott's son Eric has worked for Jacobs for a number of years. Roehm also claimed that Scott accepted travel on Jacobs' private aircraft.

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In other allegations, Roehm said Wal-Mart vice president of marketing John Fleming and others had accepted US$300 tickets and backstage passes to an Eagles concert during a meeting with suppliers in Spain.

"Many Wal-Mart executives do not abide by Wal-Mart's alleged firm policy forbidding conflicts of interest," she said.
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