Former business and finance editor of The Messenger sues owner

Former business and finance editor Ciro Scotti has sued The Messenger founder Jimmy Finkelston, claiming he back out on his vow to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars of severance if they were terminated without cause.

Justin Baragona of The Daily Best writes, “Scotti, meanwhile, was paid $325,000 a year and promised two months’ severance pay in the event of a layoff or other termination without cause. Other former Messenger staffers have also revealed that Finkelstein coaxed them to jump ship from their comfortable media jobs with above-average salaries and considerable severance packages.

“Both Scotti and Sloane allege that Finkelstein was extremely hands-on with their staffing decisions and the stories published on the site.

“‘During Sloane’s employment, Finkelstein was keenly involved in Sloane’s work on nearly a day-to-day basis, emailing or calling Sloane (or instructing Michelle Gotthelf, The Messenger’s Deputy Editor, to do so) and directing which stories he wanted covered by The Messenger,’ the complaint claims. ‘Finkelstein was directly involved in hiring and salary decisions for Sloane’s news staff (as well as for Sloane himself), and Finkelstein required Sloane to prepare a memorandum for each potential hire, setting forth recommendations for hiring, salaries and benefits.'”

Read more here.