CRANFORD, N.J. – More details have come to light about how at least one former credit union paid its former credit union board members and CU CEO after it became a mutual bank. As reported in February the former Synergy FCU became a mutual savings bank in 1998, adopted a mutual holding company structure in 2002 and then became a straight stock-issuing bank in 2003. Now an investment firm which holds a stake in the bank has charged that the bank's CEO, John Fiore, other executives and the board have been overpaid while the bank has underperformed. In the investment group's latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, PL Capital, which specializes in investing in thrifts and banks, said that over the last three years the former CU had paid its board and executive staff 119% of the credit union's net earnings over that period and that former CEO and board members had been paid handsomely. According to the SEC filing, John Fiore, Synergy FCU's former CEO, has been paid $4.46 million over the last three years and four former CU board members, Nancy Davis, Kenneth Kasper, George Putvinki and Phillip Scott each made over $500,000 over the same period.