Massachusetts may remove pension fund board

The Boston Globe reports:

The state is considering removing the entire board of the Middlesex Retirement System in the wake of an investigation by the state's inspector general that found the board rigged construction bids in favor of a contractor friendly with board members.


Removal of the board, which runs one of Massachusetts' largest pension funds, would be unprecedented.

The inspector general's report, obtained by The Globe, chronicles the use of ''fabricated" bids to ensure that the reconstruction of the Middlesex headquarters in Billerica went to a Westford contractor close to two board members. ''The board's actions in this matter represent a profound breach of public trust and a misuse of beneficiaries' money," Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan said in an 11-page letter to the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, or PERAC, which oversees the state's 106 public pension systems.

Public sector greed and accountability.