SFBC Parts With Miami Chief

"They've fired the CEO, the president, the head of legal affairs -- and now Holmes, who everybody said was clean and an important clinical asset for the whole company," says one short-seller who first started betting against the company before its big collapse. "How can acknowledging another bad apple be a net positive for the future of SFBC?"

Final Paycheck

Just over a year ago, SFBC was inking generous new employment contracts with its now-departed leaders.

Former CEO Arnold Hartman and former President Lisa Krinsky picked up big raises that left them pocketing $650,000 apiece in base salary alone. Holmes, who scored a giant pay hike of his own, collected $550,000.

"These three executives, acting together, function as the office of the chief executive," SFBC's 2005 proxy statement explains. "Each of these key executives has and continues to make major contributions to the growth and success of SFBC."

But their days were clearly numbered. Six months after signing those three-year deals, the executives saw their status threatened by the Bloomberg expose.

Hartman and Krinsky left the company last year with millions of dollars in severance payments. Holmes will now collect nearly $1 million in cash himself, along with various other benefits.

Deserted Ruins

Meanwhile, the division that those people ran -- once the crown jewel of the company -- lies in ruins.

Last month, in fact, SFBC gave up on its Miami operations altogether. The company had little choice. The Miami-Dade County Unsafe Structures Board had rejected the company's remediation plans for its Miami clinic, and ordered the building's demolition. The company elected to shut the money-losing operation instead of fighting for it any further.

Jefferies analyst David Windley breathed a sigh of relief. Just one day before SFBC announced the planned closure, Windley had suggested that the company cut its losses in Miami and move on.