Bankrupt hospital operator Steward Health Care paid nine executives over a million-dollars each in the year before filing for bankruptcy. 

Steward founder and CEO Ralph de la Torre earned well over three-million-dollars in the 12 months before the filing in May. 

The large salaries continued to be paid by Seward while payments to dozens of vendors and medical suppliers were stopped. 

Steward owns more than 30 hospitals, including two in Boston and six others in Massachusetts.