Cuomo Gets More Lawyer Pension Settlements: Two Firms and Their Attorneys Give Up Credits for State Retirement

By Rick Karlin, Albany Times Union, N.Y.

Jun. 4–ALBANY — Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday added two more law firms and their lawyers to the list of attorneys who have paid settlements and given up public pension credits as a result of his probe of abuses in the state retirement system.

The settlements, totaling $235,000, stem from Cuomo’s investigation into lawyers and other professionals who were improperly listed as school or BOCES employees when they should have been considered independent contractors. Cuomo and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli have been looking into the long-standing practice this year.

Settling the case were the Syracuse-based firm of Ferrara, Fiorenza, Larrison, Barrett and Reitz; the New York City firm of Aiello and Cannick, and Long Island attorney Gilbert Henoch.

At the Syracuse firm, three lawyers, Marc Reitz, Norman Gross and Henry Sobota, have agreed to forgo pension credits with the Madison Oneida BOCES. The firm will pay $100,000.

The Times Union earlier reported that in 2002 Reitz lost a lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Albany County in which he tried to keep pension rights through the state Teachers Retirement System.

More recent settlements involve pension credits from the State and Local Retirement System.

Lawyers at Aiello and Cannick, Cuomo said, were improperly listed as employees at the Mount Vernon school district and will forgo their pension credits as well as pay $75,000.

And Long Island lawyer Gilbert Henoch had already collected more than $50,000 in pension benefits through earlier work at the Hempstead and East Meadow districts. He’ll give up future payments and pay $60,000.

Cuomo made the announcement with Long Island lawmakers who are preparing legislation to prevent future pension abuses.

The attorney general said he believes such actions should be treated as felonies, which would make it easier to bring criminal charges. No criminal charges have been brought so far. & Ferlazzo law firm.

The Hodgson Russ lawyers were not accruing pension credits.

Rick Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com.

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