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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=16657
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House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 14, 2015 11:59 AM
From: Representative Scott A. Petri
To: All House members
Subject: Legislation to Amend the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act - Any Crime
 
In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would amend the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act (Act 140 of 1978). Currently, Act 140 requires a public employee’s or public official’s pension to be forfeited only when he or she is convicted or pleads guilty or no contest to certain crimes related to his or her public office or public employment (“forfeiture crimes”). My legislation would require pension forfeiture if a public employee or public official is convicted or pleads guilty or no defense to any crime that is related to his or her public office or public employment.

As currently written, a state employee or state official who is charged with a forfeiture crime has the ability to offer to plead guilty to a different non-forfeiture crime in order to avoid pension forfeiture. For example, former Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Willis W. Berry Jr. was recently charged with violating Pennsylvania’s conflict of interest law, a non-forfeiture crime. He was also charged with theft of services, a forfeiture crime. If former Judge Berry were able to reach a plea deal by which he plead guilty to the conflict of interest charge and had the theft of services charge dismissed, he would be able to continue to collect his state pension, which is approximately $6,000 gross monthly.

I believe that any state employee or state official who violates the public trust by committing any crime related to his or her public office or employment should forfeit his or her pension.



Introduced as HB16