Fired executive must repay Systemax $11M

A top executive and board member of Port Washington-based electronics retailer Systemax Inc. has been fired and must repay $11 million in cash and stock, the company said Monday.

The actions came after an investigation of the executive, Gilbert Fiorentino, following an anonymous whistle-blower's tip. He headed Systemax sales operations in Miami, Fla., and its major subsidiaries TigerDirect.com, Circuit City and CompUSA. The company has not specified any misconduct by Fiorentino, who had also been a member of the Systemax board of directors.

The investigation was conducted by a company audit committee with the help of independent counsel.

Systemax said that Fiorentino, 51, has five days to give back to his former employer "1,130,001 shares of Systemax common stock owned or beneficially owned by Fiorentino and $480,000 in cash." These assets have a combined value of about $11 million, Systemax said.

Fiorentino could not be reached for comment Monday.

Systemax said it did not expect the investigation into Fiorentino, or the resulting agreement, to require a restatement of past financial results. "The matters investigated occurred over a number of years [and] did not have a material impact on Systemax's previously reported financial results in any reporting period," the company said.

The division Fiorentino ran is now under the direction of a senior Systemax officer and continues to operate without interruption, the company said.

On April 18, Systemax placed Fiorentino on administrative leave and named Robert Leeds as interim chief executive for technology products while it searches for a permanent replacement. Fiorentino and the company also agreed to not disparage one another.