City Aims to Block Pensions for Criminal Behavior
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
The Providence City Council is drafting a new ordinance that would allow the city to reduce or revoke the pensions of retired workers who committed criminal acts—even though they were never convicted of a crime in court.
“The bottom line is if someone is afforded due process and it’s been established they have engaged in dishonorable service they should be held accountable in terms of their pension,” said Councilman Sam Zurier, D-Ward 2. Zurier, a practicing attorney, has been working with the city Law Department on crafting a new ordinance.
One ordinance already on the books allows the retirement board to revoke the pensions of retires for “dishonorable service.” But, last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that the ordinance only allows a retiree to lose a pension if convicted in court.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs a result of that decision, three retirees whose pensions the retirement board tried to cut now will continue to receive their retirement benefits:
■ Former Police Chief Urbano Prignano testified under oath in United States v. Cianci that he had provided answers to officers taking promotion exams. “I think most people would say that was not honorable service,” Zurier said. The retirement board sought to remove his whole pension, but the Supreme Court decision ensures that he will continue to receive an annual pension that was worth $70,614 in 2010, according to city records.
■ Retired Police Capt. John Ryan was implicated in the testing scandal by Prignano, although he was never charged with a crime. Before the retirement board could even touch his pension, Ryan appealed the issue to the courts, taking it all the way to the Supreme Court, which ended in last month’s decision. He now stands to benefit from an annual pension of at least $50,667.
In interviews with GoLocalProv, city councilmen expressed anger that the city will have to pay out the pensions for the three retirees, despite their dishonorable service. “I think it really speaks to the need for the ordinance to be tightened and improved,” said Seth Yurdin, the majority leader.
“I really hope as a city we can enact something that gives teeth or credence to the decisions made by the retirement board,” added Bryan Principe, D-Ward 13.
‘Not fair to taxpayers’
One key change in the new ordinance will be a provision that gives the city the right not only to stop pension payments, but also to recover the money that it paid out to a retiree during the time that the retiree was fighting the loss of his or her pension, Zurier said. Otherwise, he said retirees have an incentive to string the issue out in court so they can collect as much of their pension as possible before losing it. “It’s not fair to the taxpayers to permit that,” Zurier said.
The new ordinance will also have to clearly define dishonorable service. The current ordinance cites the following as examples: embezzling public money, felonious theft, bribery, and using a public position for personal benefit or profit—or for the benefit or profit of someone else.
Those crimes should also be connected to their job, Zurier (pictured left) adds. “It’s not just a matter of whether someone has committed a crime but also whether that crime is linked to their service as a municipal employee,” he said.
Pensions of three retirees virtually untouchable
Assuming that the City Council does pass the new ordinance, Zurier said it is likely too late to go back and attempt to again revoke the pensions for Prignano, Parsons, and Ryan. “It would be extremely difficult to reach back and get someone who’s already put their application in,” Zurier said. If the city tried to use the new ordinance to recover what it’s paid them in pensions, he said all three would make the case in court that the old ordinance—which was in effect when they retired—should apply to them.
As of July 2010, the total cost to date of paying out the pensions for those three was $631,576, according city records.
Related Articles
- Cipriano Denies He Got Special Pension Deal
- Pension Fraud: Other States Crack Down
- Cipriano Pension Deal Is Illegal
- Pension Fraud: What Are the Candidates Going to Do About It?
- Councilman Warns $1.2 Billion Pension Liability Could Get Worse
- Disability Pensions: Is There a Cure?
- ‘Corrupt’ Cops: See How Much They Are Making
- EXCLUSIVE: Taveras Declines Second Pension
- GoLocalProv Investigation Uncovers 25 Illegal Pensions in Johnston
- GoLocalProv Investigation: Johnston to Crack Down on Illegal Pensions
- GoLocal Investigation Uncovers More Sweet Pension Deals
