Greenberg builds second insurance giant

NEW YORK, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A former American International Group chairman is building his second U.S. insurance empire with the help of former AIG executives, an insurance expert said.

Maurice Greenberg, former chairman and chief executive officer of AIG, ousted during an accounting scandal in 2005, lost much of his fortune when AIG collapsed and was bailed out by the federal government last fall, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Responsible for much of AIG's massive buildup over the years, Greenberg has turned his attention to his new insurance conglomerate C.V. Starr, the newspaper said.

"Basically, he's just starting 'AIG Two' and raiding people out of 'AIG One,' " Douglas Love, an insurance executive at Investors Guaranty Fund of Pembroke, Bermuda, told the Times.

Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. hired former AIG executives Charles Dangelo, Jim Vendetti and Alex Pittignano, the Times said. The siphoning of talent from a company with government debt to repay concerned U.S. Treasury's pay master Kenneth Feinberg, who limited pay to seven bailed out companies last week.

C.V. Starr, with no pay cap, could quickly undermine AIG's talent pool.

"That's why Ken Feinberg spent hours at AIG trying to understand that specific dynamic and strike the right balance," " Treasury Department spokesman Andrew Williams said.