Thursday, December 23, 2010

And here are the proud double-dippers

From the NY Post:

Embattled Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez and 10 other state pols will give new meaning to the words "retired in office" on Jan. 1 -- when they start new terms hours after cashing in fat pensions, The Post has learned.

The 11 double-dipping state lawmakers -- including former state Democratic Chairman Herman Farrell and former Bronx Democratic Chairman José Rivera -- are the latest to take advantage of a mind-boggling loophole that allows some elected officials to collect pension checks while still in office.

The list of lawmakers who filed their "retirement" papers with the state Comptroller's Office by the Dec. 1 deadline includes seven Republicans and four Democrats.

Lopez, 69, can expect to receive an estimated $88,000 pension annually on top of the $92,000 salary he draws as the Assembly's Housing Committee chairman.

The 12-term assemblyman, who is reportedly battling a cancer relapse, has also been dogged by criminal probes into the Brooklyn charity empire he founded.

Meanwhile, Farrell, 78, is eligible for a pension worth a projected $108,000 over his $113,500 salary as Assembly Ways & Means chairman -- by far the largest haul of the 11 who took advantage of the loophole.

To claim the plush benefit an official need only "retire" Dec. 31 and show up after the confetti falls New Year's Day to get sworn-in anew. The Legislature closed the loophole in 1995, but politicians elected to office before that date can still collect.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

All the more reason why we need term limits.

Yocap said...

Almost every City Agency has retired members working for them. They get waivers to work on the basis that no one else can do the job. Also there can be any number of payment i.e. some can get a salary while collecting a pension, some the pension will be banked, and some can make a certain amount and no more, and that's decided upon who you know. Now that's not people that retire from the city then get jobs working for private contractors that are working for the city...this is city retirees working for the city in almost the same job they had when they were active...

Anonymous said...

Yo cap, that's not what this is about. this is about getting elected and re-elected to the same spot, getting enough years in to retire, and then going back to the same spot as a "retired" worker and a current "employee".

Anonymous said...

We need term limits desperately. If a politician is caught stealing money or making shady deals with taxpayer dollars, he/she should be kicked out of office and they should receive NO PENSION. Use the pension money to pay back the city coffers. This is why the city and state have no money. When you betray the public's trust, you shouldn't get a pension.

Bayside Boy said...

There are NO jobs that only one "retiree" can do. Youth unemployment in this country is massive. So is recent-college grad unemployment. Get the career bureaucrats out and let them take their oversized pensions with them.

ew-3 said...

this is one of those issues that cause people to lose faith in their government.
it seems so simple to fix, NO DOUBLE DIPPING. If you are actively employed in government you can not collect a government pension.
No grandfathering, no overrides, no waivers.
Just fix it. Surely someone else can and will do the job.

Anonymous said...

This is what we're working our butts out for. A municipal, state and federal system that transfers your money to their pockets on one hand. And on the other select privileged corporations who siphon our tax dollars through corrupt contracts and purposely crippled oversight. When things go wrong government steps in with our money to prop them up.

Simple we are being raped!