Posted on 01/07/2006 10:29:24 AM PST by NormsRevenge
The sweeping indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury exposes an alleged conspiracy by five San Diego officials to boost their own retirement benefits while fraudulently manipulating the pension board to approve a massive underfunding of the pension plan. But the 20 counts handed down against the current or former retirement system officials are not likely to mark the end of the federal criminal probe.
The indictment focuses on efforts by the five officials to conceal from the pension board of trustees material information about increased retirement benefits adopted by the City Council in exchange for the trustees' approval of the underfunding scheme.
For example, defendant Ron Saathoff, who as president of firefighters union Local 145 was also a member of the pension board, stood to receive a $25,000 hike in his pension, according to the indictment.
Yet the five conspirators concealed this critical fact from the pension board. What's more, according to the indictment, Saathoff "falsely denied that he had received increased benefits" during a meeting of the pension board. The other four named in the indictment are pension board general counsel Loraine Chapin, former Human Resources Director Cathy Lexin, former acting city auditor Terri Webster and former pension fund administrator Lawrence Grissom.
Three of the defendants – Saathoff, Lexin and Webster – also face felony conflict-of-interest charges in state court for votes they cast as pension trustees to enhance their own retirement benefits.
In a tremendous disservice to San Diego taxpayers, the current pension board voted last month to pay the defense costs of Chapin and Grissom.
One simple read of the federal grand jury's indictment, which alleges multiple instances in which Chapin and Grissom fraudulently deceived the board, should persuade the trustees to rescind their ill-advised decision to cover the pair's legal bills.
Union officials indicted as well as city officials.
Working together for the children of those who worked for the city, obviously.
All bureaucrats and politicians are corrupt, and throw in Union officials with them. We need term limits and we need to abolish any government agency unions, period. Of course the great Socialist Peoples republic of CA will not do this. I am moving as soon as I can, I have been in this state since 1952 and it has gone from a really good place to live, to be one of the great sh**holes of the US. I am retired now and see no reason to stay here, maybe Nevada would like to have me.
I've been here a little longer than you have and I feel the same way. It's a mess.
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