Fired executives tied to Kmart consulting firms

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003 | 9:42 a.m.

TROY, Mich. -- Two fired Kmart Corp. executives are under investigation for their ties to consulting firms that billed the bankrupt retailer for millions of dollars in business, the Detroit News reported.

The executives, Anthony D'Onofrio and David Montoya, have emerged as key figures in Kmart's internal inquiry into the former management team that steered the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

D'Onofrio, who was fired in March as Kmart's supply chain chief, is under scrutiny for possibly taking an improper payment from a consultant, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The investigation also is zeroing in on the relationship between Montoya, a former senior vice president, and the Rogers, Ark.-based consulting firm Retail Strategies International (RSI) Inc., The News reported.

The revelations about D'Onofrio and Montoya come as Kmart's outside law firm wraps up a corporate stewardship review and as a federal investigation of Kmart executives shifts into a higher gear.

More than 25 subpoenas have been issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the wide-ranging investigation, which also includes the FBI and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to law enforcement sources. A federal grand jury has been impaneled and could hear witnesses soon, the sources said.