Cuomo's pension cases roil the Dem scene

Global Strategies, which has been hired by top state Democrats in recent years, settled a case for $2 million involving its representation of a company that succeeded in getting an increase in investment funds from the state pension fund controlled by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.This settlement was reached during investigation by Attorney Gen. Andrew Cuomo.

Mirram Global is a joint venture between Global Strategy and the group that includes Roberto Ramirez, the former assemblyman. The investment company's chief exec was Leo Hindery Jr. (who's been a big Democratic fundraiser). Global a few years ago was often associated with Eliot Spitzer, the former governor.

As political fodder, there are many dots that will be connected here both plausibly and hyperbolically. As described here, the bigger fish in settlements is Steve Rattner, the short-lived auto-industry adviser to President Obama whose Quadrangle firm at one time handled Mayor Michael Bloomberg's wealth.  In this case, while DiNapoli is charged with no wrongdoing, the particular investment increase took place on his watch. Likely GOP opponent Harry Wilson has commented, and DiNapoli has responded.

An especially interesting couple of paragraphs from Danny Hakim's New York Times story today:

Court filings released on Thursday by Mr. Cuomo’s office raised new questions about Mr. Ramirez’s role in arranging pension investments. Last year, a spokesman for Mr. Ramirez told The New York Times that Mr. Ramirez’s company, Mirram Group, was never paid for arranging an investment between Intermedia and the pension fund.

“Intermedia Partners has never been a client of the Mirram Group,” the spokesman, Jesse Derris, said in a statement last year. “Mr. Ramirez has known Mr. Hindery for years, and he served with Comptroller DiNapoli in the Assembly for a decade. He was happy to introduce them.”

But Mr. Cuomo’s office revealed that Mirram Global, a joint venture between the Mirram Group and Global Strategy, had been paid $883,333 in 2006 by a company controlled by Mr. Hindery as compensation for arranging deals between Intermedia and the state and city pension funds. The Mirram Group received half of the fee, according to the investigation.