City Pension Fiasco

A few months ago the San Diego (California) County District Attorney charged six city officials with felony conflict of interest in the pension-fund scandal that prompted the resignation of Mayor Dick Murphy. Now the FBI has launched a probe that focuses on City Manager Lamont Ewell.

The feds recently subpoenaed a 2002 memo–apparently laced with falsehoods and signed by Ewell–that defends the council’s decision to boost retirement benefits, amid deep criticism from then-pension board trustee Diann Shipione. Turns out that the benefit boost was full of irregularities and the feds think Ewell was involved in a conspiracy to cover them up.

The pension has a $1.37 million deficit, due in great part, to a pension board vote that tremendously boosted pension payouts of the six city officials turned defendants.