CalPERS "Travelgate" -- That's Not The Ticket
For the past year, CalPERS has been dogged by scandals related to its private equity investments. And most of it has been deserved, as the pension giant allegedly became a revolving door for ex-staffers seeking to make millions off their past service. Unfortunately, there can be a downside to the exposition of public corruption: Well-intentioned journalists sometimes confuse the appearance of impropriety with actual impropriety. Such was the case last week, when the Los Angeles Times published a story about how “CalPERS investment staff receive luxury travel, gifts from financial firms.” At issue were between 10 and 12 private jet trips taken by Joncarlo Mark, a CalPERS senior investment officer for alternatives, prior to 2008. He also was accused of failing to disclose several gifts in excess of $50, including two meals, some candy and assorted tschotchkes.
