AIG Execs Take Spa Vacation After Bailout

WASHINGTON -- Less than a week after the federal government had to bail out American International Group Inc., the company sent executives on a $440,000 retreat to a posh California resort, lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown said.

The tab included $23,380 worth of spa treatments for AIG employees at the coastal St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles even as the company tapped into an $85 billion loan from the government it needed to stave off bankruptcy.

The retreat didn't include anyone from the financial products division that nearly drove AIG under, but lawmakers were still enraged over thousands of dollars spent on catered banquets, golf outings and visits to the resort's spa and salon for executives of AIG's main U.S. life insurance subsidiary.

AIG, crippled by huge losses linked to mortgage defaults, was forced last month to accept the $85 billion government loan that gives the U.S. the right to an 80 percent stake in the company.

The information was unveiled during a hearing with lawmakers Tuesday.

During the second Presidential debate Tuesday night, Democrat Barack Obama said the U.S. Treasury should demand the money be returned and top executives be fired. Republican Senator John McCain did not specifically address the spa vacation by AIG employees.