Quadrangle kicked back
The Quadrangle Group agreed to pay $ 12 million to settle allegations of paying kickbacks to get business from a NY pension fund. The investment firm will pay $ 7 million to the pension fund and $ 5 million to the SEC. News of the settlement came on the same day that the state comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, became entangled in the sprawling investigation of New York’s nearly $130 billion pension fund. Quadrangle has acknowledged paying more than $1 million in fees to a political consultant, Henry Morris, in exchange for his help in landing a state investment contract.
The New York investigation has prompted several other states to examine how their pension funds solicit investments, and firms including the Carlyle Group have settled related cases.
“This case has started a national investigation of public pension funds all across the nation,” attorney general Mr. Cuomo said in a conference call with reporters on Thursday. “A significant amount of this country’s wealth is in these public pension funds and I fear — seeing what we’ve seen in New York — that it’s going to be a serious problem for the nation.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/business/16pension.html?src=me&ref=business
