April 22, 2011
The Jewish Voice
Aging Service Advocates Oppose Mayor’s Cuts: “DON’T CUT CASE MANAGEMENT TO HOMEBOUND SENIORS”
NEW YORK
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Former Comptroller Alan Hevesi Sentenced to Up to Four Years in Prison CONVICTED IN PENSION FUND KICKBACK SCHEME
A coalition of aging service advocates lead by the Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS), Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), United Neighborhood House (UNH), CityMeals on Wheels, the Human Services Council, and UJA-Federation assembled on the Steps of City Hall to inform the public and to speak out against the proposed cuts 6.6 million dollar cut to case management. 6.6 million dollar cut would leave home bounder older New Yorkers alone and venerable. Fatima Goldman, Executive Director/CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies stated: “Case management is vital and links seniors with essential services such as entitlements and benefits, medical services, home delivered meals, home care, and many other supportive programs. Case managers are lifelines for isolated, homebound elders, and in some instances have saved seniors’ lives when they have faced physical, financial or emotional abuse and neglect. Due to the expected growth in the elderly population as well as the current demand for services, we urge that funding for this core service be restored and baselined,” Baselining is a budget word which means that the Mayor allows the case management funds to remain in the Department for the Aging (DFTA) budget so there is not a cut and the funds flows into the budgets of case management agencies immediately. This will ensure continuity of services to home bound elderly New Yorker. Cara Berkowitz, Director of City and Public Affairs, UJA-Federation of New York:
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An elderly demonstrator asks why she must keep coming back to save her senior center. “Case management services are a lifeline to vulnerable seniors who otherwise could not perform daily tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, on their own. These seniors have made invaluable contributions to the City of New York through decades of work and raising families and the city needs to honor its commitment to care for these clients in their time of need.” Marcia Stein, Executive Director, Citymeals: “Case management agencies are the entry point for home delivered meals and the social workers they provide are an essential support to an increasingly frail elderly population, most of whom live all alone. These agencies should be spared the inefficiency inherent in lobbying the City Council
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Former New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi walks to a court appearance in Albany, N.Y. Hevesi Admitted Accepting Nearly $1 Million in Exchange For Approving $250 Million in Pension Fund Investments lan Hevesi, former Comptroller of the State of New York, has been sentenced to a term of one to four years in prison, the maximum sentence available by law for his crime. Hevesi pled guilty in October 2010 to a felony for his involvement in a pay-to-play kickback scheme while the head of the state Comptroller’s Office. “Today, Alan Hevesi was appropriately punished for abusing his position as New York’s Comptroller,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Hevesi brazenly sold access to New York Pension Fund investments—a betrayal of the public trust that went to the heart of his duties as Comptroller. Today’s sentencing decision will help achieve my office’s principal objective of restoring New Yorkers' faith in their state government. I’d like to thank Governor Cuomo and his team in the Attorney General’s Office for their work on this matter.” In a statement to the press, current New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said the sentencing of Alan Hevesi “is a welcome and just conclusion to a years-long saga. Mr. Hevesi betrayed the trust of all New Yorkers. His sentence is clear evidence that this type of criminal behavior will not be tolerated.” Hevesi was sentenced last Friday before Judge Michael J. Obus. In October 2010, Hevesi pleaded guilty to a felony charge of receiving reward for official misconduct, a class E felony, for receiving nearly $1 million in gifts in exchange for improperly favoring and approving $250 million in pension fund investments in private equity fund Markstone Capital Partners, L.P. Today’s sentencing decision was the second stemming from the long-running investigation by the Attorney General’s Office into corruption involving the Office of the New York State Comptroller and the state pension fund. Last month, Hevesi’s former political advisor, Henry “Hank” Morris, received the maximum allowable sentence of one to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a Martin Act felony charge for his role in the pay-to-play scandal.
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DETAILS OF HEVESI’S CONDUCT Hevesi, who served as State Comptroller from January 2003 through December 2006,
admitted that he accepted nearly $1 million in gifts from Elliott Broidy, a founder of Markstone Capital Partners, L.P., (Markstone), as a reward for giving preferential treatment to Markstone’s investment proposal. Hevesi violated his fiduciary duty to act solely in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the pension fund by favoring and approving $250 million in pension fund investments in Markstone. Broidy, a friend and fundraiser for Hevesi, pleaded guilty in December 2009 to a felony charge of rewarding official misconduct in connection with the nearly $1 million in gifts he gave to Hevesi and other officials at the Comptroller’s office, so that he could obtain investments in Markstone. Markstone has agreed to return $18 million in management fees to the pension fund associated with these investments. Broidy, who will be sentenced in the coming months, has also agreed to pay $18 million to the State of New York as part of his plea agreement with the Attorney General’s Office. Hevesi further acknowledged that during his tenure as Comptroller, he was aware that Morris was a paid placement agent in connection with pension fund investments, that Morris steered pension fund investments to friends and political associates, and that Morris solicited campaign contributions from financial firms who appeared before the pension fund.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION The investigation has resulted in eight guilty pleas to date. In addition to Hevesi and Morris, the Attorney General’s Office secured guilty pleas from former Chief Investment Officer David Loglisci; former Liberal Party Chair Raymond Harding; investment advisor Saul Meyer; hedge fund manager Barrett Wissman; unlicensed placement agent Julio Ramirez; and venture fund manager Elliott Broidy. These defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months. Attorney General Schneiderman recognized the work of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who prosecuted this investigation during his tenure as Attorney General. He also thanked New York State Inspector General Ellen Nachtigall Biben, former Special Deputy Attorney General for Public Integrity, who has been cross-designated as a Special Assistant Attorney General for these sentencing proceedings