Getty Board Paid $4 Million to Investigate CEO

Internal review turned up numerous cruises and extensive support for two protégés in Germany and Russia. 

The LA Times reports details of the internal investigation of Barry Munitz, the former CEO of the Getty Museum (Getty Trust EIN 95-1790021 Form 990).  The board hired the lawfirm of Munger Tolles & Olson, who employed a team of over two dozen attorneys, staff, and consultants (billed at $690 per hour) to conduct interviews and review documents.  At one point the lawfirm secretly copied the hard drive in the CEO's office computer.  The investigation alone cost the trust $4 million. 

The story spends a great deal of space on Mr. Munitz' spending on behalf of an art student in Germany for whom he obtained an internship with the Museum of Modern Art shortly after the Getty gave MoMA a $1.2 million grant and a curator of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg with whom he met on several trips to London, seeing movies and attending concerts together. 

The Getty Trust is still under investigation by the California attorney general. 

Previous postings about the Getty Trust:
Getty Trust goes public with governance documents (August 1, 2006)
Getty Trust head steps down without severance (February 10, 2006)