Ridder Got $600,000 Severance Package from the Pioneer Press

When former publisher Par Ridder left the Pioneer Press in March, he admitted taking sensitive computer data on finances, personnel, advertising, and circulation with him. But he made off with something else, too — a $600,000 severance package. PiPress attorney Phil Sechler revealed the information in a final day of hearings over Ridder’s departure and his attempts to poach top executives as he left, the Pioneer Press reports.

The three days of hearings concluded on Wednesday, and the next step, the filing of closing arguments in writing, must be completed by July 16. But don’t expect a swift decision, says Ramsey County District Court Judge David Higgs. He might take two months to decide whether to grant the Pioneer Press a temporary injunction that would prevent Ridder and two other former PiPress executives from beginning work at the Star Tribune for one year.

“I’d be real surprised if that’s before the end of the summer,” he said.