NEW YORK (Reuters)-New York elected officials, lobbyists and placement agents will be permanently excluded from dealing with the State Pension Fund under new rules proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday.
"The pension fund should be taken pure, and taxpayers ' money should not be the plaything of elected officials," the freshman Democratic Governor said.
As a State Attorney General Cuomo examined how the selection of the 132 billion dollar pension fund investment managers was damaged.
New York state pension fund has only a trustee--the state comptroller.
The former state comptroller, Alan Hevesi, was sentenced on April 15, to as long as four years in prison for accepting luxury travel of a California venture capitalist to manage some of the State Pension Fund.
Cuomo's questions research led to similar probes around the United States and a crackdown on placement agents or brokers, who often benefit from political allies to reap millions of dollars of fees of investment firms, including prominent hedge funds and private equity companies were requested.
Cuomo ordered the state insurance department to strengthen and the temporary rules that had issued as a result of his research, which up to eight guilty pleas and the restoration of 170 million dollars for taxpayers led make them permanent.
The new rules would require a "higher standard code of conduct," Cuomo said in a statement, by blocking inappropriate relationships between pension fund officials and of the investment firm employees or agents.
FAREWELL, REVOLVING DOOR
Furthermore, the rules the so-called revolving door, that pension fund officials immediately start working for investment firms, and prevent investment firms inappropriate gifts to prohibit pension officials.
The list of persons who pleaded guilty, which includes Henry Morris Hevesi was the top fundraiser. Hevesi, former comptroller, also a Democrat, got the benefit of $ 500,000 in campaign contributions from the pension scheme Kickback.
Cuomo's questions new rules will investment firms which have a direct or indirect campaign contributions, charitable contributions or gifts to the state comptroller.
Cuomo spokesman was not immediately available to say whether law firms were excluded from the new rules.
New York's comptrollers, as many trustees of large public pension funds, bring sometimes important lawsuits against companies, want to recover taxpayer money lost due to misconduct. Ethics watchdogs say trustees campaign contributions from law firms want to get hired as external advisors public pension funds that do not have to accept.
Cuomo also proposed ending retirement benefits for each State employee or elected official convicted of a crime "in relation to their Office." Some notable New York politicians--Hevesi--currently are still able to collect their pensions.
New York's current state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat, said that he had forbidden placement agents in April 2009.
Harry Wilson, who DiNapoli Republican opponent in november of last year elections was criticised DiNapoli for accepting campaign contributions from lawyers.
DiNapoli supports public campaign funding. In his statement, he added that he "continues to argue that his placement agent ban--along with the pension confiscation bill earlier this year suggested he and his other pension reforms--are made in the law."
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