[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Louis Freeh, former FBI Director, in his role as trustee for the MF Global bankruptcy case, has requested that a bankruptcy judge permit him to payout hundreds of thousands in bonuses to employees still working at the firm.  This, presumably, would be in addition to salaries that the employees are receiving.  Detractors of his proposal include Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who called the action "outrageous" in a letter to Mr. Freeh. Among the 20 or so MF Global employees standing to gain from the proposed bonus plan reportedly are the 3 former highest-ranking MF Global employees - including COO Bradley Abelow, CFO Henri Steenkamp, and general counsel Laurie Ferber.  The size of the bonuses would depend on their job performance in helping Mr. Freeh maximize value for creditors of the company.  Bonuses would be rewarded in installments throughout 2012. Senator Fire. Sen. Tester wrote on behalf of Montana's farmers and rangers who invested in the futures market through MF Global, and are likely to suffer losses because of the $1.6 billion shortfall in customer accounts that emerged following the firm's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on 10/31.

"Rather than reward executives in the hopes of being able to pay back creditors, I urge you to forgo executive bonuses and instead use these funds to repay the farmers and ranchers whose trust was so betrayed by MF Global."

In a separate letter, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D - MN) said Mr. Freeh's plan is "unacceptable" until the end of numerous civil and criminal investigations into the firm's demise.  "These same executives were at the helm of MF Global when it collapsed," and added, "Issuing bonuses with the company's holdings sends the wrong message to customers already skeptical of the bankruptcy process." Current Numbers. For last year's fiscal year ended 3/31/11, Mr. Abelow received a total compensation of $7.6 million, including a salary of $830,000, according to a securities filing.  Following the bankruptcy filing, he cut his salary to $60,000. To date, many MF Global customers have received only about 72¢ for every dollar they had at the securities firm when it collapsed.  Thus far, no one at MF Global has been charged with wrongdoing.  Mr. Freeh has yet to make a statement in response to the senators' letters. For further details, go to [WSJ, 3/15/12].