Hevesi's Pension(s)

Liz Benjamin says, “They do it Differently in Massachusetts“.

The Boston Globe reports that former House Speaker Thomas Finneran’s guilty plea today in federal court to obstruction of justice charges will result in ”the almost certain loss” of his $30,000 annual pension.

Massachusetts law bars public employees from receiving their pesions if convicted of “a criminal offense involving violation of laws application” to their offices or positions.

New York State, of course, has no such law, which is why former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi will continue to receive the bulk of his pension despite the recent guilty felony plea in connection with “Chauffeurgate.”

She goes on to clarify that, even if New York had a similar rule, it wouldn’t apply in Hevesi’s particular case because he never paid into or earned credits in the pension system while state comptroller.

A state pension is a constitutionally guaranteed benefit (protected, that is, by the New York State Constitution).

In the mid-1990s, former state Comptroller H. Carl McCall proposed a pension forfeiture statute in the state Legislature, saying that ending the benefits for those convicted of work-related felonies would “send a strong message that the abuse of public trust will not be tolerated.”

It went nowhere.

This is the kind of thing that assails people’s trust in the system. Massachusetts is tougher on politicians who misbehave?