DiNapoli Banning Middlemen from State Pension Fund

New York, NY —

The investigations into New York State pension fund corruption have pulled back the curtain on networks of money, power and influence in New York, Albany and Washington and have already led to two indictments, one felony complaint and one guilty plea. Even President Obama's car czar Steven Rattner may be connected - although he hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing. Rattner was also Mayor Bloomberg's money manager. Yesterday the man in control of the state pension fund, Thomas DiNapoli, announced that he's stopping all new deals with placement agents. Those are the brokers who commonly help private equity firms and hedge funds get access to public pension money. WNYC's Lisa Chow caught up with State Comptroller DiNapoli yesterday and asked him to explain his decision to ban placement agents.