MassMutual has finally gone public about why it fired chief executive officer Robert J. O'Connell. According to the Boston Globe, previous reports of O'Connell's misbehavior were only part of the picture.

O'Connell "engaged in a systematic and pervasive pattern of willful abuse of authority …'taking or diverting policyholders monies or assets for personal use," wrote officials in the letter.

Specifically, MassMutual alleged in the letter that O'Connell did not investigate whether his son, Jared, improperly passed on stock tips to that ''was used to engage in improper and/or illegal securities trading," and even had records of the affair "removed from their personnel files and destroyed."

Officials also wrote that O'Connell bought a MassMutual-built property at a discount, then had the company lie on his behalf about the sale of the property to the California Insurance Department. The ex-CEO's "personally motivated and retaliatory terminations" also cost the company "unwarranted and excessive severance payments," wrote the officials.

The company included its termination letter to O'Connell in a court filing related to its attempt to fight off an investigation by Secretary of State William Galvin. The company is already being investigated by several state authorities. On Thursday, a judge will consider MassMutual's case against Galvin.  

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