The State Government Watch blog has an interesting article on how the former head of Hawaii’s Tourism Authority netted a hefty “resignation payment” after he was caught in an ugly email scandal:

The embattled former chief executive of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Rex Johnson, will receive nearly $300,000, including unused vacation pay, as part of an agreement with the state agency. The tourism agency, which faces significant challenges ahead in guiding Hawaii’s bread-and-butter industry through its most turbulent time, agreed to a resignation payment of $208,181 based on Johnson’s initial annual salary of $240,000 through August 2009. Johnson’s vacation pay, also based on his $115 hourly rate, amounted to $83,304, bringing the total resignation package to $291,486. Johnson resigned Oct. 8 after a state auditor flagged his email for pornography sent to friends via his state laptop. Racist and sexist messages sent during the same period surfaced a few months later.

Yes, that’s right. He was caught with porn and racist emails on his state issued laptop, yet made out like a bandit. Not exactly a deterrent againt violating email policies, is it?