NY Kickback Scandal Spreading Like A Virus: CalPERS, CalSTRS Involved
The New York’s pension fund kickback scandal has reached all the way to California. Pro Publica is reporting that Hank Morris’s firm, Searle & Co., shared fees with California investment firm Wetherly Capital Group on commitments from CalPERS, CalSTERS and LA Fire & Police. Writes ProPublica: Wetherly received up to $3 million in fees for one pension deal in New York, investigators say. … Wetherly and the firm with which Morris was affiliated, Searle & Co., also have shared fees for helping a private equity firm seal three multimillion dollar deals with California funds, ProPublica has learned. Overall, Wetherly has helped ten firms score a collective $300 million in commitments from CalPERS. Meanwhile, CalPERS apparently didn’t know there was a relationship between Wetherly and Morris, the publication notes.
