Who gets paid from oil spill fund? Obama’s czar has tough calls on claims far from the Gulf

Far from Gulf, a cloudy picture for oil fund czar

NEW ORLEANS — Is a strip club that caters to oil-rig workers entitled to a piece of the $20 billion fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico disaster? How about a souvenir stand on a nearly empty beach? Or a far-off restaurant that normally serves Gulf seafood?

The farther the massive spill’s effects spread, the harder it will get for President Barack Obama’s new compensation czar to decide who deserves to be paid.

Kenneth Feinberg is in charge of a $20 billion fund for oil spill victims. He says he’ll have to decide how far removed from the Gulf a business or a worker can be and still file a legitimate claim.