Christie Crime Digest-Vol. II

[Laxman]

121. Christie's Manufactured Pension Crisis....

owes a large part of it's origins to the mismanagement of pension funds and the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in management fees to Christie's friends. It's good to be a FOC'er!


Read David Sirota's article here: http://www.ibtimes.com/chris-christie-administration-paid-600m-financial-fees-2014-1833872

Chris Christie Administration Paid $600M In Financial Fees In 2014

Under Chris Christie, the New Jersey pension system paid more than $600 million in fees to financial firms in 2014 -- 50 percent more than a year ago, and a higher rate than almost any other state reports paying for pension management. The figures are buried within an otherwise routine annual report that appeared to change the way the fees were counted to make them look smaller than they actually are.

That accounting change comes at a time when the Christie administration is under scrutiny for investing pension money in high-fee firms whose executives made campaign contributions to Republican political groups. The move obscuring the increase in reported fees also comes on the heels of Christie telling New Jersey teachers, firefighters, cops and other public workers that “there are no alternatives” to cutting their retirement benefits because the state pension system is so strapped for cash.

“The lack of transparency, skyrocketing risks and fees and chronic underperformance makes New Jersey the poster child for the kind of shenanigans happening in pension systems across the country,” said former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney Ted Siedle, who conducts forensic investigations of state and local pension systems.

The New Jersey Department of Treasury and Christie’s office did not respond to International Business Times' request for comment.