Alan Hevesi Investigation Begets Pension Reform In Albany

Just days after former for his role in a pay-to-play scheme run from the state capital, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state insurance department is rolling out new, permanent safeguards to prevent such a thing from ever happening again.

Citing Hevesi specifically, Cuomo said the state’s pension fund must be protected from corruption at the hands of elected officials.

"It is long past time that we learned the lessons of the Hevesi case and made permanent changes to our system that will stop the culture of corruption," Cuomo said. "In case after case in the pension fund investigation, we saw the systemic abuse of the pension fund by public officials and those seeking quick profits at the expense of taxpayers. Our mission now must be to protect public and taxpayer dollars from being further abused by elected officials who misuse their office and violate the law."

Among the security measures the governor has said will be put in place are:

• A prohibition on investment in firms that have donated to the New York State Comptroller’s office
• A ban on elected officials’ involvement in any pension fund-business
• Sweetheart jobs, gifts and other relationships between current pension plan employees and investment firms.

Hevesi was sentenced to prison time after he plead guilty to abusing his office by trading millions in investments from the state pension fund for bribes, trips and gifts.

The former Forest Hills assemblyman was not alone in the scheme, which also led to the prosecution of six other people, including long-time Hevesi aide Hank Morris.

Cuomo, who was attorney general during most of the pension fund investigation, said that New York taxpayers needed to feel confident in the state’s ability to maintain its fiscal house responsibly.

"The pension fund should be kept pure, and money belonging to taxpayers should not be the plaything of elected officials," Cuomo said.