Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris and Passaic) issued the following statement after reading that some employees of the bankrupt Wall Street investment bank, Lehman Brothers, have been promised they will receive bonuses next year:
“Some purchasers of Lehman Brothers businesses reportedly have assured former Lehman employees that there will be no change in how lucrative bonuses are determined under the new management,” Pennacchio said. “This is so frustrating. Given the trillions of dollars that the Wall Street bailout will cost Americans, it is unconscionable that the Wall Street bankers who caused much of the problem should continue to receive hefty salaries, let alone be paid bonuses for their ‘performance.’
“New Jersey’s struggling pension funds lost more than $115 million in less than four months on an investment in Lehman. Yet the State Investment Council and the treasurer have ignored my calls for a full accounting of how this Lehman investment was made and whether conflicts of interest by current and former Lehman executives on the State Investment Council played any role in the State’s decision to invest in Lehman.
“It’s shocking to think that former Lehman employees might get bonuses from their new employers before New Jersey taxpayers, teachers and police officers get answers about where hard-earned pension contributions invested in Lehman went. Is it possible the two Lehman employees on the council will be receiving bonuses this year or next?
“Neither the treasurer nor the governor should hide behind the argument that they can’t talk about this investment decision because some day, maybe, the state might file a lawsuit. Answers are needed now so that the public can be reassured that decisions on pension investments are based solely on what’s best for taxpayers and workers.”
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April 24, 2009
