AG Cuomo expands state pension fraud investigation

The state's attorney general said Friday that he is expanding his ongoing criminal investigation of state pension fraud to all 37 BOCES programs in New York.

Andrew Cuomo broadened his investigation one day after the state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, said that he had removed four attorneys, all from the Albany law firm Girvin & Ferlazzo PC, from the state's retirement system for "erroneously" receiving pension benefits for working for a BOCES program based in Johnstown. The firm did not return calls seeking comment.

"We have reason to believe some BOCES may have unclean hands in this situation," Cuomo said in a statement. "There appears to be a chronic fraud that has occurred across New York State for many years, and we will work until we get to the bottom of it."

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BOCES are educational co-ops. Cuomo said many attorneys in question are incorrectly classified as employees on the payrolls of multiple BOCES or school districts. This makes the attorneys eligible to receive retirement benefits and pension payments, while still earning money from their private practices.

Some of the attorneys on these payrolls didn't provide any legal services at all, Cuomo said.

Cuomo said one attorney, who he declined to name, may have collected more than $700,000 in pension benefits to date, which are funded by taxpayer money.