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State removes more lawyers from pension system

BY SANDRA PEDDIE | sandra.peddie@newsday.com

8:13 PM EDT, June 13, 2008

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli removed three more lawyers from the state pension system and canceled some pension credits for a fourth, his office announced Friday.

The lawyers, all partners in a law firm located outside Binghamton, had earned public pension credits by being improperly reported as employees of upstate school districts or BOCES.

None of the lawyers returned calls for comment yesterday. Their lawyer, John Perticone, declined to comment.

"Taxpayers and the pension fund shouldn't have to pay for pension benefits for people who shouldn't earn them," DiNapoli said in a statement.

Since beginning its review of attorneys improperly reported as employees to the state pension system, the comptroller's office has revoked or suspended the pensions of 13 people, four of them on Long Island.

It has canceled pension credits for five people statewide, one of them on Long Island.

DiNapoli began the review in March after Newsday reported that five Long Island school districts falsely reported attorney Lawrence Reich as a full-time employee at the same time, enabling him to secure a public pension and lifetime health benefits. The comptroller's office later ruled that Reich was not entitled to his $61,459 pension and must pay it back.

In Friday's action, attorneys Edward Sarzynski, Michael Surowka and Wendy DeWind all lost membership in the pension system, and attorney John Lynch lost some pension credits. Because Lynch earned legitimate pension credits as a lecturer at the State University of New York at Cortland, he was allowed to remain in the pension system and lost only the credits accrued through BOCES, said Emily DeSantis, a spokeswoman for the comptroller.