To: Poet who wrote (192442 ) 3/22/2009 10:09:20 AM From: Poet Respond to of 306849 and more... AIG executives find themselves at center of firestorm Security guards shoo the curious By MariAn Gail Brown Every now and then, a beefy security guard steps out of his sport utility vehicle idling outside James Haas' Fairfield house, strides up the driveway and tells visitors his employer has no desire to see them. "You'll have to go," he told one couple. "Mr. Haas doesn't want you on his property. He's not home." The guard gestured toward Sasco Hill Road, where traffic appears heavier than usual, with pickups, minivans and a few economy cars. These curiosity seekers, not ordinarily seen in this Southport neighborhood, slow to gawk at the home of one of the AIG Financial Products' executives, recipients of a share of the $165 million retention bonuses meted out with taxpayer bailout money. The presence of security outside Haas' home is a dress rehearsal for the activists on a bus who will show up today to protest the bonuses, catch a glimpse of these executives' havens and rally for new laws that make it harder for the corporate elite to benefit from federal bailouts and easier for middle-class people to protect their homes from foreclosure. Connecticut Working Families and ACORN are organizing activists outraged by the federal bailout to AIG for a bus tour of executive homes in Fairfield County, culminating with a rally outside AIG Financial Products' headquarters in Wilton. "The voices of people who are on the other side of this economic meltdown have not been heard, and they need to be heard as clearly and as forcefully about losing their homes to foreclosure, losing their jobs," said Jon Green, a spokesman for Connecticut Working Families. "We are not looking to harass these individuals or fan the flames for retribution in any way." But if any of the AIG executives who took a slice of the firm's retention bonuses feels uncomfortable or a sense of shame, he said, it might not be a bad thing. "It would show that there's a sense of contrition." Public outrage over the bonuses led some executives to hire private security to guard their homes. In New Canaan, a silver SUV blocked the driveway of Jonathan Liebergall, one of the men to whom Attorney General Richard Blumenthal plans to serve a subpoena. The SUV was occupied by a hooded sentinel who directed inquirers to leave the property. There was no answer at Steven Wagar's home at Little Fox Lane in West Norwalk. A neighbor, Roger Randall, said he doesn't know the family other than to wave at them as they drive by. "We see each other and wave. They are very nice. The kids are very pleasant and nice too," Randall said. "They lived here before we moved in seven years ago," said Randall a former Stamford resident. Not far from Haas' house in Fairfield, it was the same story outside Douglas Poling's house. A security guard stood vigil in the driveway in the early evening, warding off the media. According to several media reports, Poling, who received $6.4 million, Haas and Jon Liebergall, of New Canaan, intend to give the bonuses back. Robert Toft, who identified himself as the father of Christian Toft, one of the AIG bonus recipients, answered the door Friday evening at the family's large, gray Colonial tucked away at the end of Hidden Meadow Road in Weston. "We're just under a lot of stress right now, and my son does not want to make any comment at this time," said the senior Toft.