Convicted LA City Councilcrook Gets To Keep His $116,000-A-Year Pension
Dakota Smith writes in the Los Angeles Daily News:
Despite being convicted of four felonies this week by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury, former City Councilman Richard Alarcón will continue to receive his $116,000 annual pension, an official said Thursday.Unlike some other California jurisdictions, Los Angeles doesn't prohibit city employees convicted of felonies from receiving pensions, a representative of the city's civilian retirement division said.
Alarcón was convicted Wednesday of four counts of perjury and voter fraud for living outside Council District 7 and lying about his address on official documents. His wife Flora, 49, was convicted of three counts.
His attorney Richard Lasting said Thursday he will file court documents in the coming weeks to have the case tossed out.
Alarcón's conviction comes three months after City Councilman Mitchell Englander introduced a motion that would require city workers convicted of a felony involving the use of their city position to forfeit their pension. The proposed law was spurred by revelations over the $72,000 annual pension collected by a recently convicted city building inspector, Englander's motion states.
Note that politicians have real problems passing laws to curtail themselves, but no problem passing loads of laws to curtail the rest of us -- which, in my experience, the police department will ignore if the people breaking them are wealthy and connected enough.
Remember back a few years, when I said this is what you can expect when you don't pay any attention to the behavior of the paying agency?
Well, looka here, I was right: think your local government has any more use for you than the Feds, you'll be wrong.
Your public officials will take your money.
That's, "take your money".
Radwaste at July 26, 2014 7:13 AM
So, he obtained the job fraudulently and lied about his qualifications for it, but he gets to keep the pension from it?
Got it.
Conan the Grammarian at July 26, 2014 10:35 AM
Jesus H. Keerist on a pogo stick, $100 g's for a damned pension?! WTF - these leeches are destroying us.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at July 26, 2014 7:13 PM
Well, at least according to the interesting article, Gov. Brown signed a law in 2012 that terminates state public employee pension if convicted of a felony. And a prop passed in '90 ended state lawmakers pensions, which makes sense.
Maybe the proposed law in LA will pass after this.
I still can't believe the gun runner, drug dealer Leland Yee is still getting paid on suspended leave.
Jason S. at July 26, 2014 8:19 PM
Hmmm...I have a few thoughts on this. And as with most of my opinions on controversial issues, I can't find my way to come down completely on one side or the other.
He committed fraud when he presented his credentials to get the job? Okay, that's a bad thing to do. Naughty, naughty.
But why did he get away with this? Because some idiot in charge of hiring this cheat didn't bother to check on his claims. I hate it just as much as they do that this jerk got the job by lying about his qualifications. But again, why the hell did they not bother to check? Isn't that standard operating procedure? What are these boneheads thinking? "Oh, I think he looks honest enough. He wouldn't lie about his credentials."
They have themselves to blame.
As for giving up his pension, I find myself agreeing with LA Police Chief Bernard Parks:
Why does a felony conviction (or four) let the city off the hook? Did he fulfill his obligation to the city? Then pay the damn pension.
And yes, that's one helluva good pension.
Patrick at July 26, 2014 8:50 PM
It's an elected job.
The responsibility for the failure to check his claims falls on the press, the elections commission, and, most of all, the voters who elected him.
Conan the Grammarian at July 27, 2014 6:23 PM
“He earned the pension — once you earned it, it’s yours,”
Even if it was obtained as a result of committing a crime?
So...the message I'm getting is that in LA, crime does pay.
I R A Darth Aggie at July 28, 2014 6:31 AM
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