Chris Christie Is Facing Yet Another Investigation

[eridani]

http://inthesetimes.com/article/17918/christies-administration-is-facing-another-investigation

If after last week’s Bridgegate indictments you thought Chris Christie was finally done as the focus of government investigations, think again. The Republican governor’s administration in New Jersey is facing a whole new inquiry—this one involving hundreds of millions of dollars, and not just blocked-off bridge lanes.

At issue are the fees being paid by New Jersey’s beleaguered public pension system to Wall Street firms. In recent years, Christie’s officials have shifted more of the retirement savings of teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public workers into the hands of private financial firms. That has substantially increased the management fees paid by taxpayers to those firms. Indeed, while Christie says the pension system cannot afford to maintain current retirement benefits, pension fees paid to financial firms have quadrupled to $600 million a year—or $1.5 billion in total since he took office in 2010.

In recent months, details have emerged showing that Christie officials have directed lucrative pension management deals to some financial companies whose executives have made contributions to Republican groups backing Christie’s election campaigns. Additionally, Christie’s officials have admitted that they have not been fully disclosing all the fees the state has been paying to private financial firms.

Not surprisingly, this has made the trustees who oversee the state’s retirement system more than a little bit nervous—especially since the ever-higher fees have coincided with below-median returns for the state’s pension fund. So the trustees began asking questions, and when they didn’t get the answers they were looking for, they announced in April that they are launching a formal investigation of the matter.

[monmouth4]

1. His wife is a Wall Street maven, let's see if she's involved in directing these funds. n/t

[Human101948]

2. I don't know how much of a maven she is but she is connected...

Her compensation is okay but not in the elite level of Wall Street.

I think the biggest connection to Wall Street for Christie is his brother, who got him started fundraising for Republicans (G. W. Bush in particular) which got him the job as U.S. Attorney even though his qualifications were virtually nil.

[monmouth4]

3. Forgot about him. Thanks for the info..n/t

[malaise]

4. And the trustees suddenly see a problem

Where were they all this time?
Better late than never I guess - truth be told Christie should be in a prison cell.

[luckykate54]

5. He should be in jail!!!!

[seafan]

6. Bullies, thieves and liars.

There is not much difference between these two, in their hatred of working people and determination to stay in power by stealing from them.


Gov. Jeb Bush's administration steered $1.7 billion of Florida state worker pension money to financial firms run by George W. Bush's major donors., International Business Times, April 14, 2015


Chris Christie facing another investigation: Whether Christie’s officials have lined Wall Street’s pockets with the retirement savings of teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public sector workers.
May 8, 2015


These are two excellent directions for our new U. S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to pursue.


Criminality like this should lead to lengthy prison time.



JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images via IBT



(May Young / Flickr) via InTheseTimes

[polichick]

7. Scum.

[Gothmog]

8. Christie is not going to be the GOP nominee