Cuomo
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's efforts to spread his investigation of pension fund abuses seem to be working.
Several states are getting on board with Cuomo's probe, which seeks to determine if those who controlled state pension funds participated in inappropriate dealings with the firms used to invest the funds.
Just five days after Cuomo initiated a meeting, the New York Times reported more than 100 firms had been subpoenaed by attorneys general in at least 30 states.
On May 1, Cuomo held a briefing with 100 individuals from 36 attorney general's offices.
"We decided to create a multi-state task force to explore pension fund abuse so states can share vital information to prosecute wrongdoing and facilitate nationwide reform," Cuomo said.
"The task force will allow us to have a unified, efficient method for gathering information as we fight to combat corruption and restore transparency and integrity to public pension funds."
At least three retirement funds in New York have banned the use of placement agents. Hank Morris, an advisor to former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, has been charged with soliciting kickbacks and political contributions from investment firms.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.