INDIANAPOLIS -- Marsh Supermarkets Inc. claimed the company's former president spent about $500,000 of company money for personal use, including family trips to New Zealand and Africa. The allegations are in response to a lawsuit filed in September by former president David Marsh against the company, the Associated Press said.
Marsh, who was fired in February as the company was looking for a buyer, said the company owes him about $34,000 in severance pay. Marsh, 43, earned a salary of $440,000 as the company's president and COO.
The company said in a legal filing this week that it terminated Marsh subject to further investigation that might result in termination for justifiable cause. An investigation later found evidence of Marsh's improper acts, the company said in the filing in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
Had Marsh Supermarkets known of his conduct, it would have terminated Mr. Marsh for cause at the time, the company said in the filing.
The company said Marsh took money from the company's petty cash fund for personal expenses without paying back the company. It is asking a judge to make Marsh pay damages that could reach $1.5 million, three times the actual damages. The company did not say how many trips Marsh took or elaborate on the spending.
David K. Herzog, a lawyer from Baker & Daniels who is representing the company, declined to elaborate on the circumstances that led to Marsh's termination. Marsh's lawyer, Linda Cooley, declined to comment on the recent filing. These things will run their course in litigation, she said.
In September, Marsh shareholders approved the company's nearly $88 million sale to investment fund MSH Supermarkets Holding Corp., an affiliate of the private investment fund Sun Capital Partners Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla.
The company operates 67 Marsh Supermarkets, 31 LoBill Foods, 6 O'Malia's Food Markets, and 148 Village Pantry convenience stores in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois.
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