SAN FRANCISCO— It’s time to get the special interest money out of the electoral process. Free and Equal (F&E) and Taxpayers United of America (TUA) released lifetime pension payouts for San Francisco area government retirees.

Taxpayers United of America and Free and Equal today revealed government employee pensions for the San Francisco and Alameda area. California is the 13th state in a nationwide tour for the two organizations.

“The highest lifetime pension payout in 13 states thus far comes from Alameda County at $17.8 million. How much money are bureaucrats willing to bilk taxpayers for before they take action?” asked Christina Tobin, TUA Vice President and Founder and Chair of Free And Equal.

“We are here to tell politicians that we are uniting reformers across the spectrum to throw anyone out of office who who makes deals with special interest and we are building the nationwide tool to support the movement. We will be releasing our Nationwide Database for Pension and Electoral reform in the coming days.”

“While residents across the bay area face crushing taxes, falling home values, and high unemployment, Governor Brown maintains favor with the union leaders by seeking a deal to cut government employee pay by 5%, increase taxes, and leave the pension problem untouched. This is the kind of deal that got us into this mess and yet here Brown is, making his own deal, selling out constituents to save face with union bosses who support him.”

Tobin continued, “For example, Gary Thuman, retired Alameda County employee, collects an annual pension of $396,102. His estimated lifetime payout is $17,824,590*.”

“Heather Fong, retired San Francisco government employee, has an annual pension of $280,350, with an estimated lifetime payout of $11,858,810*.”

“Retired San Francisco government teacher, Mae G. Chan, has a lifetime estimated payout of $9,634,319* based on an actual annual pension of $240,557.”

View pension amounts below:

• Alameda County Gov Teachers Top 100
• Alameda County Gov Employees Top 100
• San Francisco County Gov Teachers Top 100
• San Francisco CA City Gov Employees Top 100
• California State Assembly Top 20
• University of California Top 100

“California’s government pension systems are crushing middle class Californians. Replacing defined benefit pensions for all new government hires with social security and 401(k)s would eventually eliminate unfunded government pensions. If current government employees would just increase their pension contributions, they would preserve their pension benefits. We need a stable system that is fair to both taxpayers and beneficiaries or pension checks will stop coming.” Added Tobin, who attended Thursday’s Pacific Research Event that examined public pensions.

*TUA submits FOIA requests for actual pensions. Since personal information is not available, lifetime pension payouts are estimated based on retirement at 55, life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590), and 3% COLA.

If you have not read or heard anything about California’s unfunded public employee pension crisis, you’ve probably been living under a rock or, like union bosses and too many members of the state Legislature, the governor’s office and local elected officials, you are happily in denial.

Tensions are mounting too as pension deniers or pension reform “obstructionists, as Mercury News writer Daniel Borenstein called them, are attempting to publicly shame those of us pointing out that pension liabilities could bankrupt California without serious reform.

Borenstein is joining CalWatchdog contributor Steven Greenhut and David Crane, a former California State Teachers Retirement System board member,  and me for a panel on pension reform in San Francisco on Thursday.The unions have already gone on the attack about the event.

“Spotting my scheduled appearance on an upcoming conservative think-tank panel to discuss public-employee pensions, union spokesman Steve Maviglio went into Twitter attack mode last week,” Borenstein wrote for the Mercury News.

“@stevenmaviglio branded me a ‘pension basher’ and called my ethics into question. His sad attempt to divert the debate badly mischaracterizes my position and further undermines serious discussion of a complex issue.”

Fortunately as unions get louder so do the cries from taxpayers and advocacy organizations.

Christina Tobin, Founder and Chair of Free and Equal Elections Foundation and Vice-President of Taxpayers United of America, this week has been holding press conferences in California cities to draw increased attention to California’s pension crisis, including a planned event in Fresno on Wednesday and San Francisco on Thursday (in the morning before the reform panel).

Instead of denying the flood of economic problems looming because of pensions, it’s time to face the facts and fix the problem.

Former public employees convicted and cashing in. Despite serving time behind bars, many public sector workers are still drawing a pension that you’re paying for with millions of your tax dollars.

You might have thought that if a public employee like a cop, a teacher or a state senator was convicted of a crime in New York, they would have forfeited their taxpayer funded pension. But until this year, that hasn’t been the case.

And we found plenty of examples of the convicted cashing in.

When former Greece Police Chief Merritt Rahn was found guilty of cover-up crimes involving two of his officers, he lost his job, his reputation and his freedom. He didn’t, however, lose his taxpayer funded pension. For the past two years, while behind bars, Rahn has been collecting a retirement pension of $55,000 per year.

“Well if he does, he doesn’t deserve it, that’s for sure,” said Greece resident Bob Warnick when we told him of Rahn’s pension.

In fact, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We found many public employees convicted of crimes and still collecting their pensions. And it’s perfectly legal.

After digging online, we ran the names of some former dubious local public employees into a database that tracks pensions. And here’s what I Team 10 discovered:

*Former state assemblyman Jerry Johnson. Convicted of breaking into a staff member’s home in Livingston County, he retired in 2000 and now collects an annual pension of $39,807.

*Bob Morone, in prison for his part in the county Robutrad scandal…$18,790.

*Former City of Rochester inspector William Redden, who admitted to taking bribes in a bid rigging scheme…$21,376.

*Former Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy James Telban was found guilty of misdemeanor DWI in a crash that killed a motorcyclist. He still gets his pension…$30,000 a year.

*John Stanwix, former Monroe County Water Authority chairman who pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of steering contracts to a consulting company he owned has an staggering pension of $98,658 per year.

*Nelson Miles, Jr., formerly a teacher in Caledonia-Mumford, who downloaded child porn…$21,705.

*Crooked cop Gary Pignato, now locked up for using his badge in Greece to coerce women into sex, gets $45,494 a year.

“You shouldn’t be allowed to collect a pension after committing a felony offense and being convicted for it in relation to your job title and duties,” says state assemblyman Mark Johns.

Johns co-sponsored a bill that punishes elected or appointed public officials who violate the public trust by making them forfeit their state pensions. And last year, elements of that legislation were incorporated into an ethics reform bill, signed by Governor Cuomo, which allows prosecutors to go after public employee pensions in some cases.

Still the new law doesn’t apply to those already collecting.

“What if he received that pension in a private sector job? He certainly would still be drawing that,” says Rochester Police Locust Club President Mike Mazzeo.

Mazzeo and other critics question whether it’s fair to take away a pension that a public employee earned over an entire career.

“Someone that’s serviced for 20 to 25 or 30 years with outstanding service and the whatever the issue is, the mistake made. Does that justify reducing or taking away their pension?” asks Mazzeo.

Over the course of a retirement, those pension dollars add up.

Take the case of former Rochester Police Chief Gordon Urlacher. He had 25 years in with the department before he was convicted in 1992 of embezzlement charges. According to the New York State Comptroller’s Office, since his retirement shortly after his arrest, Urlacher has received close to one million dollars in pension payments.

“This issue only scratches the surface of the problem,” says Christina Tobin of Taxpayers United of America.

She’s been traveling the country warning of pending doom if public pension costs aren’t reigned in.

“The taxpayers, they aren’t aware that pensions are the number one budgetary problem in the United States today and we need to address this issue,” Tobin says.

Targeting felons may not fix the problem, but supporters say it’s a start.

“I think it’s a waste of the taxpayer’s money myself. If the guy’s in jail, that means he doesn’t deserve something. Why give him a good pension?” says Warnick.

I Team 10 also spoke with the local chapter of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). The labor union of public employees says it supports the idea of only rewarding members with pensions who don’t violate the people’s trust.

The new ethics law, call The Clean Up Albany Act of 2011 only addresses felonies and would not automatically strip a public worker of his or her pension upon conviction. A prosecutor or the New York State Attorney General’s Office would have to essentially petition the court to withhold all or part of that pension, depending on the severity of the crime the public employee was convicted of.

FRESNO— Governor Brown only missed his budget by about $16 billion and still hasn’t connected the dots between the crisis and the government employee pensions.

While residents across Fresno County face crushing taxes, falling home values, and high unemployment, the governor maintains favor with the union leaders by seeking a deal to cut government employee pay by 5%, increase taxes, and leave the pension problem untouched. This is the kind of deal that got us into this mess and yet here Brown is, making his own deal, selling out constituents to save face with union bosses who support him.

Taxpayers United of America (TUA) and Free and Equal (F&E) today revealed government employee pensions for the Fresno area. California is the 13th state in a nationwide tour for the two organizations.

“Many government retirees make more in pension payments than private sector taxpayers make in salaries, stated Christina Tobin, TUA Vice President and Founder and Chair of Free And Equal. “The California economy and the public pension systems are in serious trouble. Taxpayers struggle to save for their own retirement and fund the public pension system. Government retirees should be concerned that their pension payments will continue.”

Tobin continued, “For example, James J. Greenwood, retired Fresno County employee, collects an annual pension of $317,113. His estimated lifetime payout is $13,841,965*.”

“Peter G. Mehas, retired Fresno government teacher, has an annual pension of $241,807, with an estimated lifetime payout of $9,357,934*.”

“Retired Fresno government employee, Al Rush, has a lifetime estimated payout of $7,852,896* based on his actual annual pension of $191,768.”

View pension amounts below:

• Fresno County Gov Employees Top 100
• Fresno County Gov Teachers Top 100
• Fresno CA Gov Employees Top 100
• California State Assembly Top 20
• University of California Top 100

“California’s government pension systems are crushing middle class Californians. Replacing defined benefit pensions for all new government hires with social security and 401(k)s would eventually eliminate unfunded government pensions. If current government employees would just increase their pension contributions, they would preserve their pension benefits. We need a stable system that is fair to both taxpayers and beneficiaries or pension checks will stop coming.” Added Tobin, who will be attending Thursday’s Pacific Research Event that will examine public pensions.

“The pension crisis is the number one budgetary problem for cities, counties and states across the country. A nationwide movement is under way to shift the dialogue to action. We are collaborating with the leaders of pension reform, in working to avert the collapse that will result from inaction. We will be launching our nationwide database for pension and electoral reform in the coming days. This online database will provide a repository of information on elections: the names, the money and the agendas.”

“Many politicians lack the courage to do what’s in the best interest of taxpayers. The many pension groups that have formed are working to help enhance the citizens’ groundswell that wants true electoral reform.”

*TUA submits FOIA requests for actual pensions. Since personal information is not available, lifetime pension payouts are estimated based on retirement at 55, life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590), and 3% COLA.

PLEASANT HILL— Governor Brown only missed his budget by about $16 billion and still hasn’t connected the dots between the crisis and the government employee pensions.

While residents across Contra Costa County face crushing taxes, falling home values, and high unemployment, the governor maintains favor with the union leaders by seeking a deal to cut government employee pay by 5%, increase taxes, and leave the pension problem untouched. This is the kind of deal that got us into this mess and yet here Brown is, making his own deal, selling out constituents to save face with union bosses who support him.

Taxpayers United of America (TUA) and Free and Equal (F&E) today revealed government employee pensions for the Contra Costa area. California is the 13th state in a nationwide tour for the two organizations.

“Many government retirees make more in pension payments than private sector taxpayers make in salaries,” stated Christina Tobin, TUA Vice President and Founder and Chair of Free And Equal. “The California economy and the public pension systems are in serious trouble. Taxpayers struggle to save for their own retirement and fund the public pension system. Government retirees should be concerned if their pension payments will continue.”

Tobin continued, “For example, Craig Bowen, retired San Ramon Valley Fire District employee, collects an annual pension of $295,428. His estimated lifetime payout is $12,097,777*.”

“Hye Kyung Kim, retired Contra Costa government employee, has an annual pension of $291,168, with an estimated lifetime payout of $13,102,560*.”

“Retired Contra Costa County government teacher, Daniel M. Smith, has a lifetime estimated payout of $8,366,522* based on his actual annual pension of $197,790.”

View pension amounts below:

• Contra Costa County Gov Employees Top 100
• Contra Costa County Gov Teachers Top 100
• California State Assembly Top 20
• University of California Top 100

“California’s government pension systems are crushing middle class Californians. Replacing defined benefit pensions for all new government hires with social security and 401(k)s would eventually eliminate unfunded government pensions. If current government employees would just increase their pension contributions, they would preserve their pension benefits. We need a stable system that is fair to both taxpayers and beneficiaries or pension checks will stop coming.” Tobin, who will be attending Thursday’s Pacific Research Event that will examine public pensions.

“The pension crisis is the number one budgetary problem for cities, counties and states across the country. A nationwide movement is under way to shift the dialogue to action. We are collaborating with the leaders of pension reform, in working to avert the collapse that will result from inaction. We will be launching our nationwide database for pension and electoral reform in the coming days. This online database will provide a repository of information on elections: the names, the money and the agendas.”

“Many politicians lack the courage to do what’s in the best interest of taxpayers. The many pension groups that have formed, are working to help enhance the citizens’ groundswell that wants true electoral reform.”

*TUA submits FOIA requests for actual pensions. Since personal information is not available, lifetime pension payouts are estimated based on retirement at 55, life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590), and 3% COLA.

The event, Public Pension Tsunami: Closer to the Shore?, is a discussion presented by Pacific Research Institute.

It will be held at the City Club of San Francisco and will be moderated by Brian Calle Editor-in-chief, Calwatchdog.com and PRI Senior Fellow.

“When I heard that Christina’s pension tour is now in California, the 13th state on her tour, I was excited to collaborate with her about this pervasive economic crisis”, stated Calle.

“Attending this important discussion about the top budget issue facing governments across the Nation, will cap my tour here,” stated Tobin.

“I am honored to join with leading reformers in a non-partisan effort. The goal of Free and Equal is to help foster a unified front, and to build Nationwide awareness for these dynamite organizations”, added Tobin.

Tobin has been touring the United States, city-by-city and county-by-county, releasing government employee pension numbers, highlighting  the problems of special interest money in the electoral process.

Event details:

• Public Pension Tsunami: Closer to the Shore?
• Thursday, May 17, 2012 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• The City Club of San Francisco
• 155 Sansome Street
• San Francisco

Luncheon Cost: $30 per person

For more information please contact Cindy Chin at cchin@pacificresearch.org or (415) 955-6110.

SACRAMENTO— Lucky, lucky California! Today, Governor Brown announced a new budget! He was ‘off’ $16 billion on his last budget. But this time, yes this time, he’s sure he’s got it right! According to Brown, “You can never get it quite right…” No governor, YOU never got even close.

He’s going to cut, cut, cut. And tax, tax, tax. He’s sure that’ll bring more jobs here!

But Governor, why no mention of unsustainable California public pensions that keep digging the hole deeper?

Taxpayers United of America (TUA) and Free and Equal (F&E) today revealed government employee pensions for the Sacramento area. California is the 13th state in a nationwide tour for the two organizations.

“Many government retirees make more in pension payments than private sector taxpayers make in salaries,” stated Christina Tobin, TUA Vice President and Founder and Chair of Free And Equal. “The California economy and the public pension systems are in serious trouble. Taxpayers struggle to save for their own retirement and fund the public pension system. Government retirees should be concerned that their pension payments will continue.”

Tobin continued, “For example, Rickey Martinez, retired Sacramento government employee, collects an annual pension of $210,618. His estimated lifetime payout is $9,477,788. * ”

“Mary M. Carrillo Mejia, retired government teacher, has an annual pension of $195,305, with an estimated lifetime payout of $7,997,727.* ”

“Retired Sacramento County government employee, David Lind, has a lifetime estimated payout of $7,460,967* based on his actual annual pension of $192,790.”

View pension amounts below:

• California State Assembly Top 20
• Sacramento County Gov Employees Top 100
• Sacramento County Gov Teachers Top 100
• University of California Top 100
• Sacramento Top 100 SCERS
• Sacramento Top 100 CALPERS

“California’s government pension systems are crushing middle class Californians. Replacing defined benefit pensions for all new government hires with social security and 401(k)s would eventually eliminate unfunded government pensions. If current government employees would just increase their pension contributions, they would preserve their pension benefits. We need a stable system that is fair to both taxpayers and beneficiaries or pension checks will stop coming.” Tobin will be attending Thursday’s Pacific Research Institute event that will examine public pensions.

“The pension crisis is the number one budgetary problem for cities, counties and states across the country. A nationwide movement is under way to shift the dialogue to action. We are collaborating with the leaders of pension reform, in working to avert the collapse that will result from inaction. We will be launching our nationwide database for pension and electoral reform in the coming days. This online database will provide a repository of information on elections: the names, the money and the agendas.”

“Many politicians lack the courage to do what’s in the best interest of taxpayers. The many pension groups that have formed, are working to help enhance the citizens’ groundswell that wants true electoral reform.”

*TUA submits FOIA requests for actual pensions. Since personal information is not available, lifetime pension payouts are estimated based on retirement at 55, life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590), and 3% COLA.

“The government-employee pension plans of a number of cities are headed toward default, and these sinking pension plans are the underlying reason why some cities already have declared bankruptcy and why more cities may be staring bankruptcy in the face,” according to Christina Tobin, TUA Vice President and Founder of Free and Equal Elections Foundation.

“For the last year, I have been traveling to different states county-by-county, releasing local government pension amounts. I have seen firsthand the dire financial situation that is occurring in cities and counties across the country.”

“Reuters noted that so far in 2012, there have been 21 municipal defaults totaling $978 million, versus 28 defaults totaling $522 million for the same period in 2011,” said Tobin.

“A number of US cities have filed for bankruptcy, the most prominent of which is the city of Vallejo, once the capital of California. Municipalities that have either filed for bankruptcy or are just emerging from it include Central Falls, Rhode Island, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Boise County, Idaho, and Jefferson County, Alabama.”

“According to the San Francisco Examiner, leaders of Pritchard, Alabama, a city on the outskirts of Mobile, had known since 2004 that the pension fund was scheduled to run dry in 2009. Officials tried to declare bankruptcy, but state law forbids a town from ducking its pension obligations. The city just stopped paying its pensions. Pritchard’s 150 retired city employees were reduced to showing up at City Council meetings begging for money to make it through the Christmas season.”

“As of December 2010, America’s public pensions were underfunded by an estimated $3.6 trillion. The pension problem might be worse than figures suggest, because many cities and states are either ignoring the problem or actively trying to conceal it.”

“It’s now judgment day for the lavish, gold-plated city and municipal government pensions,” said Tobin. “Many retired government employees receive pensions that are higher than salaries in the private sector. Government pension plans are hemorrhaging dollars.”

“According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Pritchard stands as a warning to cities like Philadelphia and states like Illinois, whose pension funds are under great strain.”

“The way to fix the broken pension system is to replace pensions for all new government hires with social security and 401(k)s, and increase current employee contributions,” said Tobin. “The current crop of Republicans and Democrats won’t do it—they’re controlled by corporate and union interests. We need a national movement of Americans from across the political spectrum who will unite and throw them out of office. Then, we will get meaningful pension reform.”

TUA later filed suit on behalf of Oak Park Taxpayers, to end such deceptions.

“When we challenged the deceptive activities of the School District, we knew it wouldn’t be easy,” said Christina Tobin, vice president of TUA, and Founder of Free and Equal Elections Foundation, “But the actions of the school board were so blatant, we had no choice.”

A shocking ruling by Judge Mary Mikva, on the lawsuit, basically said it was “ok” for the district to grossly understate the amount by which property taxes would increase.

But the suit also claims that the district knew in advance that the ballot grossly understated the property tax increase.

“The board didn’t just understate the tax increase. It led voters to believe that the property tax increase would be only $37.40 per $100,000 of their property value when in reality, it would be $126.04 per $100,000! That is nearly three times more than they told taxpayers it would be,” said Tobin.

The district admitted that it did not use the state equalization factor. If it had, the factor would have accurately calculated the proposed increase’s taxpayer impact.

TUA has appealed the Mikva ruling, because if the ruling stands, taxpayers could be legally misled in future, in school districts across the State, as to estimated property tax increases. The appeal has been filed in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.

“We will take this case to the Illinois Supreme Court if necessary”, stated Tobin. “In the meantime, we are dedicated to educating the citizens of Oak Park about the issue. So expect to see a flyer in your neighborhood!”

NOTE: 80% of District 97 spending goes to salaries and benefits. All of the recent 67% state income tax increase is being used to fund the lavish pensions of retired government teachers and other employees. To view the top 100 pensions and salaries of Oak Park Government School District 97, click here.