HawTel gives $1.3M to CEO it axed

The cash payment is part of a deal that gets Ruley money to be a consultant

Former Hawaiian Telcom CEO Michael Ruley, who was abruptly fired earlier this month in favor of a turnaround expert, will receive a $1.29 million cash payment under a severance agreement with the struggling telecommunications company.

Under an agreement signed Friday, Ruley also will be paid a monthly fee of $23,830 for consulting services effective this Saturday and lasting six months, for a total of $142,980.

The contract also releases Hawaiian Telcom and Ruley from being sued for employment- or stock-related claims, according to a regulatory filing released yesterday.

The payout includes all payments and bonuses owed under Ruley's employment agreement with Hawaiian Telcom, effective October 2004, including reimbursement of attorneys' fees up to $4,500 and other benefits he would have earned.

Ruley made $1.14 million in total compensation in 2006, according to the company's latest annual filing.

On Feb. 4, Hawaiian Telcom owner Carlyle Group brought in a new management team headed by Stephen Cooper, chairman of Kroll Zolfo Cooper, a New York restructuring advisory and interim management company -- for a base fee of $600,000 a month.

The company, which lost $29.5 million last quarter, is in the midst of a cost-cutting program that has reduced staffing by more than 100 positions in the past year.