Catching the double-dippers

From the NY Post:

There's been a deep drop in double-dipping.

Comptroller John Liu turned up only 21 retirees in 2009 collecting both pensions and paychecks from the city without getting the necessary waivers, according to the most recent audits. Liu estimated they collected $313,797 in improper pay.

In his annual review a year before, the comptroller discovered 59 individuals in the double-dipping pool. He put their illegal take at $751,428.

"There appears to be a lot more enforcement," said one official.

Generally, a retired city worker under 65 isn't allowed to earn more than $30,000 a year when re-employed in another city or state job and collecting a pension.

Hundreds of retirees are granted waivers, most notably ex-cops who land jobs as investigators for the five district attorneys and other agencies.

Those without the waivers get snagged by extensive computer screenings conducted by Liu's office, which compares the roll of 329,601 city pensioners against the records of 409,530 city and 330,978 state employees.

Eleven of the 21 double-dippers cited by Liu in this round worked as consultants for the city.