State Senator Joseph Pennacchio, R-Morris-Passaic, issued this statement after William Clark, head of the Division of Investment, said yesterday that he would meet with the senator to answer questions about the ill-advised June investment in Lehman Brothers. In less than four months, the state lost $115 million on its $178 million Lehman investment. Four members on the State Investment Council either worked for Lehman or had close ties to the investment bank.
“State Investment Council Chairman Orin Kramer didn’t appear as scheduled before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee yesterday. Bill Clark had to take the heat for the Lehman investment by himself.
“Clark is obviously a dedicated public servant, but it’s ironic. Less than four hours after Clark promised greater transparency, the Department of Treasury requested a third delay in producing documents related to the Lehman losses. The treasurer now says it will take two months or more to produce documents I honestly expected would take a couple of days to collect.
“My quest began with a letter to Clark and Kramer in September. I followed that with two other letters, one to the treasurer and another to the governor. No one has responded. It’s as if they believe that ignoring the problem will make it go away.
“If a state senator can not get public information from a state agency on a timely basis, then pension officials have a long, long way to go in ensuring taxpayers get the transparent government that they’ve been promised. Today, it’s clear the pension bureaucracy will work hard to keep public in the dark when it suits there purposes.”
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April 26, 2011
