Westar must pay Wittig $1.67M

Story by The Associated Press

6:32 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, 2008

A Shawnee County judge orders Westar Energy Inc. to pay former Chief Executive Officer David Wittig $1.67 million for legal fees generated during his ongoing criminal case.

The amount approved Tuesday is $876,000 less than Wittig had sought.

District Court Judge David Bruns said he reduced the amount to reflect what he considered unreasonably high per-hour rates charged by Wittig's Washington, D.C.-based attorneys. He also criticized some of the attorneys for their behavior during Wittig's first trial, which ended in a mistrial.

Westar says it's reviewing the order.

Wittig and former Chief Strategy Officer Douglas Lake were charged with looting the company. A third trial on conspiracy and circumvention charges is scheduled for September.


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