FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Longtime pillars of the community are now pariahs living in fear, hiding behind locked gates and security guards amid the public outrage over bonuses paid with taxpayer bailout money.
Payouts by American International Group Inc. appear to have put a face on the economic struggles the country faces, and the anger targeting AIG executives living in this ritzy area of Connecticut is palpable. Death threats have been pouring in since the brouhaha broke, the company said, and its workers are taking no chances.
“It’s scary,” one executive said. “People are very, very nervous for their security.”
The financial products division is in Wilton in Fairfield County, and many of the company’s leaders live in large homes on the “Gold Coast,” an area known more for golf courses and sweeping views of Long Island Sound than for the police cars that now regularly patrol the well-kept streets.
Corporate officials advised employees in a memo later posted on Gawker.com to avoid wearing the company logo, in an effort to keep from drawing attention. Workers were also urged to travel in pairs at night and park in well-lit areas.
And typifying the preoccupation with the AIG payouts, a busload of activists plans to drive by executives’ houses today in an attempt to deliver letters highlighting the strife of ordinary families in the recession and seeking solutions for economic recovery.
Organizers of the bus protest noted that there are no plans to trespass and that only a small group planned to get off the bus at each stop.
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