The web is buzzing over what can be described as the ultimate golden parachute. Yes, the stock option backdating scandal has reached new depths with revelations that cable TV operator Cablevision Systems granted options to a board member after he died, backdating to them when he was still in the land of the living.

The not-so-lucky executive has been identified as the delightfully-named vice chairman Marc Lustgarten, who died in 1999 and whose estate was reportedly entitled to exercise the options upon his death.

And the response? Yeah, the quips are great but it's a sign of pretty sick systems operating at Cablevision.



It's a case of Steven King options, says John Paczkowski's Good Morning Silicon Valley blog and the starkedsf.com blog calls it a "crade-to-grave'' scheme and tells us to keep an eye on Cabletelevision's post-mortem benefits. Daniel Gross calls it "dead man earning".

The granting of options to the dead takes the backdating issue to a new low, says Rich Duprey on Motley Fool and it raises questions about what the real motivations were:

"Lustgarten was said to be a close confidante of Cablevision's ruling Dolan family, and all of the executive's options would have been eligible for exercise by his estate upon his death. 'Vote early, vote often' once seemed to be a rallying cry of crooked politicians everywhere. Perhaps granting stock options to everyone, anytime, living or dead, has become the new mantra of corporate excess."

But the best take comes from Patrick McGurn at the ISS corporate governance blog.

He says it reflects a dyfunctional management culture in the company:

"Cablevison continues to earn its reputation as one of the worst governed companies in the US. The Zombie grant practices on display here are additional proof that the company's governance practices have been spirited away."