Steven Rattner, the former car czar, has agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over kickback claims involving the New York State pension fund, a person with knowledge of the negotiation said Wednesday.
Mr. Rattner will accept a multiyear ban from the securities industry and pay a fine of more than $5 million, the person said. He is still in negotiations over a similar settlement with the office of the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo.
The settlement, which is expected to be announced on Thursday, caps a multiyear investigation by the government into kickbacks paid to officials with New York’s pension fund. Earlier this month, Alan G. Hevesi, the state’s former comptroller, pleaded guilty to a corruption charge involving the state fund.
The Quadrangle Group, the private equity firm co-founded by Mr. Rattner, settled with the S.E.C. and Mr. Cuomo’s office in the spring and disavowed Mr. Rattner’s conduct in a statement. The firm agreed to pay $7 million to the pension fund and $5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Rattner refused a similar offer to settle with the S.E.C. last spring, because he did not want to accept the ban from the industry. Quadrangle had been cooperating in the government’s investigation of Mr. Rattner. Since leaving his post with the Obama administration’s auto task force over a year ago, Mr. Rattner has been advising Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York on his personal finances and writing a book about his tenure as car czar.
Rattner is more than just an adviser to Bloomberg.
Here is the NY Times in April on the role Rattner plays in Bloomberg's life:
Steven L. Rattner, the financier under increasing scrutiny in a state and federal kickbacks investigation, is playing a key role in creating a new investment firm that will manage Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s fortune and finance his philanthropic foundation, according to three people told of the arrangement.
At Mr. Bloomberg’s urging, Mr. Rattner has taken a hands-on approach in helping to build the new company, despite his legal problems, these people said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of angering the mayor and Mr. Rattner.
The move comes at a time when others, including the investment firm he founded, are taking pains to distance themselves from Mr. Rattner.
...
The move comes at a time when others, including the investment firm he founded, are taking pains to distance themselves from Mr. Rattner.
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has accused Mr. Rattner of paying kickbacks to an aide to former State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi in exchange for the aide’s help in landing a state investment contract for Quadrangle, the private equity firm that Mr. Rattner founded and ran for years.
Mr. Rattner has since left Quadrangle, but last week, the firm paid $12 million to settle allegations in the kickback case and, in unusually harsh language, it rebuked Mr. Rattner for his role, calling it “inappropriate, wrong and unethical.” Mr. Rattner’s lawyers vigorously denied those claims.
Mr. Rattner, according to the three people, has told friends that he is “working with the mayor,” and he has repeatedly appeared at the 78th Street office that houses the Bloomberg Family Foundation and the mayor’s new investment office. A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, Stu Loeser, declined to comment on the details of Mr. Rattner’s work with Mr. Bloomberg, but said, “He is a friend whose advice the mayor has and continues to rely on.”
Kickbacks, bribes, unethical behavior.
Yet still the mayor remains close to Rattner and take his advice.
Oh, goodie.
Looks like you have to be a teacher to earn the mayor's rebuke.
But kickbacks, bribery, unethical behavior - no problem for Moneybags...so long as you're a bankster.
Of course, Raatner is Also the man given sweetheart,lowbid deals, so he could evict thousands of people in downtown Brooklyn to build a new basketball arena. The lies,corruption, and thuggery in the course of that situation was, again, an attack to our democratic way of life, just like Mayor Scumberg's third term. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, and more, will be used to line the pockets of scum like Ratner, and Scumberg, and others. In the end, Ratner had to be bailed out by one of Russia's richest (and most criminal) men. A 6'6" pimp of a man who recently divulged that the new "Brooklyn" team's name may not even contain the word "Brooklyn". He may want to "brand" the team globally-so why mention "Brooklyn" at all? This after Marty Windbag Markowitz shouted from the rooftops for years how Brooklyn NEEDED a new professional sports team (that no working person will be able to afford). So now, after runing the lives of everyday working Brooklynites, they won't even name the team a Brooklyn team. So far, just about everything Ratner has promised has been a lie regarding this project. Blog "Atlantic Yards" blog for details. The last thing we needed in that area was a high priced arena, owned by a criminal Russian bailing out a convicted criminal like Ratner. You can't make this up . . . except it's so sad. THIS is the mentality we are going up against. Lie, cheat, bribe, steal to make billions . . . and let the next of kin sort out the bodies when they can get to them.
ReplyDeleteRaatner's wife is also a major fund raiser for Democrats, and yes, the largest recipient of her fund raising is--Hillary Clinton. Now you know why Obama never crossed the river to campaign for Thompson instead of Corzine. "A plague on both their houses."
ReplyDeleteThis criminal Ratner isn't the builder Ratner . . . "my bad."
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER . . . the rest of the arena story is accurate, AND the builder is also a buddy of Mayor Scumberg , using a watered down version of eminent domain in forcing a crappy project down the throats of Brooklynites while using THEIR tax dollars to do it. In the ned, a billionaire Russian oligarch had to come in and bail out Ratner. Who cares if "Brooklyn" won't be on the team's jersey?