Board Members honoring their legally required fiduciary duty to the association is another issue. There is concern regarding who signed the contract with the huge payout, and who authorized that contract. Those types of clauses are not rare, for certain circumstances. If this person moved here, or left another good job, to come here, he could have insisted on a nice buy-out if terminated, etc. Although, those types of contracts typically exclude termination for certain causes, like criminal activity, fraud, or resignation as well. Any association member can request to see that contract and then know those details. 

Seems like our fears of financial wrongdoings over the years were not unfounded. Let's hope the Board does their duty, prosecutes thieves, and gets things on the right track and quickly. I also feel they should seek more financial protections in their employment contracts, if the contracts don't have proper exceptions for payouts.