Dean Skelos, convicted of corruption, gets $95G state pension

Former State Sen. Dean Skelos on Nov. 24, 2015, outside federal court in Manhattan. Credit: Charles Eckert
ALBANY — Former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who was convicted of bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges in December, will receive $95,831 a year in his state pension.
Eleven days after he was convicted on Dec. 11, Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) filed for the pension, with monthly payments of $7,985.96, according to a report on Wednesday from the state comptroller’s office, which manages the state pension system.
In January, the pension of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), who was also convicted of corruption in December, was calculated at $79,224 a year.
Skelos, who turned 68 on Tuesday, plans an appeal of the conviction. He and his son, Adam, 33, were convicted of scheming to use Dean’s power to get Adam jobs and fees from companies with business before the State Legislature.
In August, Newsday reported that at least 13 former state elected officials who were convicted of corruption and other charges were eligible to collect state pension checks totaling more than $604,000 a year.
Since then, former Senate Deputy Majority Leader Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton) also was convicted of lying to federal agents investigating a job that his son had landed. The former senator now receives a state pension of $57,744 a year.
In 2011, the legislature enacted a pension forfeiture law. But that law only allows a judge to rescind the constitution-protected pension for public officials who took office after 2011. A three-way deal to rescind pensions of convicted state officials fell apart late in the 2015 session after union opposition prompted the Assembly’s Democratic majority to seek more changes.
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