The Globe reports that the state retirement board has rejected the efforts of ex-Reps. Marie Parente, Thomas George, and Susan Pope to bump up their pensions based on a variety of perks they received while in the legislature, including the value of a parking space.
Look for a lawsuit in the near future.
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Tim Cahill and PRIM would have had to be NUTS to approve this without a fight, as it affects HUNDREDS of legislators, past and present – which explains the 4 – 0 vote. This was really just a preliminary hearing, before going to court where the SJC decision will hold more sway.
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And one of the three Musketeers is a retired attorney, with time on his hands, who would rather argue than eat his supper!
…what the idiot Parente is demanding is to have the value of her parking spot figured into her retirement package. That would be about as dumb as if my father demanding that the value of his parking spot in the parking lot at the GE plant in Evendale OH be figured into his pension. That would be dumb, and so is Parente’s demand.
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The “crooked midget*” Billy Bulger–who Parente is relying on as precedent–negotiated a compensation package to get him to move him off stage left. Part of that compensation package was denominated the “housing allowance” that Parente is using as precedent That procedure is a bit different than being allocated a parking spot similar to the parking spots that are allocated to all (or so) members of the state legislature. If Ms. Parente can show that she negotiated for the parking spot, she might have a point. I doubt very seriously that she can show that, though.
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Parente should just climb back under her rock and leave sane people alone.
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*per Howie Carr.