Dead Money at Cablevision

Cablevision (CVC Quote) not only backdated options, it gave them to a dead man, according to media reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the Bethpage, N.Y., cable system operator awarded options to Vice Chairman Marc Lustgarten after his death in 1999, but backdated them to when he was still alive.

The company also gave options to a compensation consultant and recorded them as if he were an employee, the Journal reported.

Cablevision said Thursday it filed restated financials going back to last year in the wake of an options backdating scandal at the company. Cablevision could have run afoul of its lenders had it filed those numbers later than today.

Cablevision also said Thursday it had received a grand jury subpoena seeking documents related to its stock options issues.

Richard Hochman resigned from the board's compensation and audit committees, and Victor Oristano resigned from the audit committee.