DPOA turmoil????

[Ray1936]

Got this from another blog; don't have the original source. But for what it's worth........

* * * * *


Leaders resign

Detroit Police Officers Association President Marty Bandemer and Vice President Cheryl Smith abruptly tendered their resignations today effective Jan 1, 2012.

No reason for their exodus was made known to the rank file but speculation as to why they departed will include but not be limited to a ruling by Judge Colombo today that said there was no irreparable harm to officers when the city of Detroit stopped payout of the Deferred Retirement Program [[DROP) plan funds. Bandemer and Smith both were in the DROP plan but has long since received their payout.

These resignations could be more of a legal matter. There is the matter of potential indictments coming out of a federal investigation into Pension Board activities. It is believed that indictments will be forthcoming real soon and that several board members could be implicated.

Former DPOA Vice President Paul Stewart resigned from union leadership some months ago and its been speculated that he is under investigation and maybe cooperating with the feds.

Its rumored that replacing Marty Bandemer as President will be Joe Duncan and replacing Cheryl Smith as Vice President will be Clive Stewart according to sources.

[corktownyuppie]

Got this from another blog; don't have the original source. But for what it's worth........

* * * * *


Leaders resign

Detroit Police Officers Association President Marty Bandemer and Vice President Cheryl Smith abruptly tendered their resignations today effective Jan 1, 2012.

No reason for their exodus was made known to the rank file but speculation as to why they departed will include but not be limited to a ruling by Judge Colombo today that said there was no irreparable harm to officers when the city of Detroit stopped payout of the Deferred Retirement Program [[DROP) plan funds. Bandemer and Smith both were in the DROP plan but has long since received their payout.

These resignations could be more of a legal matter. There is the matter of potential indictments coming out of a federal investigation into Pension Board activities. It is believed that indictments will be forthcoming real soon and that several board members could be implicated.

Former DPOA Vice President Paul Stewart resigned from union leadership some months ago and its been speculated that he is under investigation and maybe cooperating with the feds.

Its rumored that replacing Marty Bandemer as President will be Joe Duncan and replacing Cheryl Smith as Vice President will be Clive Stewart according to sources.

Jesus Christ. Is this entire city and county corrupt?! Wow.

[Lowell]

Jesus Christ. Is this entire city and county corrupt?! Wow.

Doesn't smell good but it's purely speculation until indictments are handed out and, more importantly, any guilty parties are convicted.

However their departure in a highly stressful period for the DPD is intriguing.

[corktownyuppie]

Doesn't smell good but it's purely speculation until indictments are handed out and, more importantly, any guilty parties are convicted.

However their departure in a highly stressful period for the DPD is intriguing.

Blagojevich is getting 14 years in prison. May we are in an era of really cleaning house.

[Scottathew]

If you want a good Detroit Police blog from an insider, here's a good site in case you guys haven't seen it already: http://www.detroituncovered.com/

[lilpup]

Take Bennett's blog with a grain of salt. He posts a lot of speculation and much of it doesn't pan out.

Typically when people resign for legal reasons their resignation is effective immediately, not with advance notice.

[Meddle]

Is this entire city and county corrupt?!

Yes, and they have been since the 50s or earlier. This is news to you?

But it's not only Detroit/Wayne County. Look at Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark, Atlanta and so many others. This is politics as usual. It also applies to unions and most fraternal organizations like the DPOA. It's the way things are done --- screw whoever we can to get ours.

[313WX]

Yes, and they have been since the 50s or earlier. This is news to you?

But it's not only Detroit/Wayne County. Look at Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark, Atlanta and so many others. This is politics as usual. It also applies to unions and most fraternal organizations like the DPOA. It's the way things are done --- screw whoever we can to get ours.

True, but with the exception of Newark [[until recently), while citites such as Chicago are certainly corrupt, they at least got the job done.

Can't say the same about Detroit.

[corktownyuppie]

Corruption only works when there's someone else to steal from. "Skimming 10% off the top" is only a money-maker when there's something to skim from. It would behoove Metro Detroit to remember that corruption can be a way of making money. It just can't be the primary way everyone makes money.

You need to have someone to steal from, too.

[Smirnoff]

According to the Detroit News, it appears that DPOA buds Paul Stewart & Marty Bandemer will be facing justice, very-very soon:

.....The officials were Beasley, the city treasurer; Stewart, the vice president of the Detroit Police Officers Association; and Bandemer, president of the union that represents most of the city's police force.

During the birthday parties, Zajac and Papas allegedly solicited cash gifts from pension fund businessmen, according to the indictment.
Beasley allegedly received $10,000 cash. Stewart and Bandemer each received $5,000, prosecutors allege.
The party location? Papas' hotel, the Atheneum, prosecutors say.
Soon after the parties, Beasley, Stewart and Bandemer voted to give the pension fund lawyer a "substantial raise" in October 2007, according to prosecutors.
The raise bumped Zajac's pay to more than $400,000 a year.
Bandemer, 59, meanwhile, was the public face of the Detroit Police Officers Association until resigning mid-term in December 2011.
The indictment identifies an official who received $15,000 in casino chips as "Trustee B."
"Trustee B" is Bandemer, according to dates of key votes listed in the indictment, a review of pension board meeting minutes and interviews with sources familiar with the investigation.
Bandemer's attorney Steve Fishman could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Bandemer and others allegedly used their public positions to enrich themselves by demanding or accepting bribes and kickbacks, including cash, Playboy party tickets, trips, designer watches, gambling money, massages and more, according to the indictment.
Bandemer allegedly received cash from Zajac and others to run for election as president of the police union and $11,000 in cash bribes from an unnamed consultant who was pursuing a pension deal, according to the indictment.
Bandemer also allegedly received $2,500 from a pension fund businessman in approximately fall 2007, according to the indictment.
Days later, prosecutors allege Bandemer brought a motion to the Police and Fire pension board to wire $16.9 million to the businessman's company.
In early 2008, the businessman allegedly gave Bandemer $2,500 cash in Florida, prosecutors allege.
In March 2008, the businessman allegedly paid for Bandemer, Stewart and his mistress to take a ship to Freeport, Bahamas, according to the indictment.
In October 2007, Bandemer voted to fire a real-estate investment consultant who failed to donate to Kilpatrick's nonprofit group, according to the indictment.
Leading up to the firing, Bandemer and Stewart complained that the consultant "had not been generous in paying for drinks and entertainment for them," according to the indictment.

[Gannon]

Let the chips fall where they may, as long as they don't get back to the Greektown Casino to get cashed!

[Smirnoff]

Wonder if they will still be pounding-down brews everyday at Sindbad's.....

[stasu1213]

I had always thought that the pension fund should be only used for those who retired city employees. Nothing else.

[Motor City Sam]

This pension fun case could be bigger than the KK Enterprise trial that just ended, especially in terms of public money lost to fraud and theft.

[cla1945]

Get all of the assholes who have been skimming the pension fund for years. That money is designated for the 22,000 City of Detroit retirees and no one else. It can make more money with good investments, but seems to me that there haven't been any "good" investments since the 80's.

[Ray1936]

Get all of the assholes who have been skimming the pension fund for years. That money is designated for the 22,000 City of Detroit retirees and no one else. It can make more money with good investments, but seems to me that there haven't been any "good" investments since the 80's.

Good investments HAVE been made. The P&F pension fund was 102% funded as of June 30, 2011 [[the 2012 annual report is not out yet). It currently has four billion, with a 'b', in assets. When you have that kind of money, you don't just put it in a bank savings account; it must be invested in various markets. A few of those markets have been questionable [[read "Synagro"), but most have been legit and profitable. Bear in mind that police/fire personnel do not pay into social security in their careers, and thus most do not qualify for ss benefits or medicare. The pension fund is their only old age income.

[cla1945]

Good investments HAVE been made. The P&F pension fund was 102% funded as of June 30, 2011 [[the 2012 annual report is not out yet). It currently has four billion, with a 'b', in assets. When you have that kind of money, you don't just put it in a bank savings account; it must be invested in various markets. A few of those markets have been questionable [[read "Synagro"), but most have been legit and profitable. Bear in mind that police/fire personnel do not pay into social security in their careers, and thus most do not qualify for ss benefits or medicare. The pension fund is their only old age income.

Did we get the 2011 report yet? I know they usually come 2 years after the fact. Ray, not quite sure if the amount you are speaking of [[4 billion) is correct since there have been so many people out there skimming a bit here and a bit there. It amazes me that so many people had access to it without any oversite by anyone. There have been many bad investments with our pension money, as well as some good ones. I agree that it shouldn't be put in a bank savings account, it certainly doesn't make money there. I feel that there have not been too many people within the CofD who have kept an eagle eye on our funds and have kept sticky fingers out of our money. I know Coleman wanted some of it, Kwame wanted some of it.
This crap about "legacy" and "entitlement" is getting on my nerves. This is mine and all the other retirees who gave their 25, 30 or 40 years to Detroit with the promise of a decent pension and healthcare.
Most guys I know worked 10 years more after their retirement to qualify for SS and Medicare, but from what I understand, they don't get the full amount. I don't know what the percentage is, but it's not what others get. My pension is my only income and at my age, WalMart wouldn't want to hire an old codger like me to greet it's customers.

[Smirnoff]

WalMart wouldn't want to hire an old codger like me to greet it's customers.

Sure they would.....just put the beer & cigar down

[Packman41]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but several experts do not believe the pension funds are as fully funded as they claim to be. Below is a comment I posted on another thread on Detroit Yes:

Ok, so I decided to do some fact checking about the two Detroit pension funds. I found their latest financial reports for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012 and presented on December 12, 2012. Here are those reports:

General Retirement System [[GRS):
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/tr...7_406186_7.pdf

Police and Fire [[P&F):
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/tr...7_406187_7.pdf

Here are some highlights:

Investment Returns:
Net Investment Income [[Losses): P&F $[[138.3 million) GRS $49.0 million
Net [[Decrease) of Net Assets: P&F $[[405.6 million) GRS $[[262.7 million)
Composite Rate of Return: P&F -1.47% GRS -0.4%
Investment Assumptions: P&F 7.9% GRS 8.0%

The average composite rate of return for all pension funds in the USA since 2000 was 5.7%, yet these funds hope/need to earn 8%. So, whenever the actual rate is less than the assumed rate, then the amount of underfunding increases. Experts say that for every 1.0% of difference the amount of underfunding is misstated by 15%. Therefore, these funds are underfunded by another 34.5%. Oh, and by the way, the investment results from the GRS for 2006 through 2011 was only 4.7% - less than the 5.7% I used.

Investment Credit Quality:
Percentage of Debt Securities BELOW investment grade: P&F 66.2% GRS 81.3%
Percentage of total assets with indeterminate fair market value: P&F 25% GRS 32%

These two measures of credit risk are breath-taking. I guess this is what happens when municipal pension funds do NOT have to follow ERISA rules. The result is a pension fund investment board comprised of: [[1) day-to-day workers with little education and/or investment skills and [[2) mayoral and Common Council appointees [[think Monica Conyers, Jeff Beasley, etc, now convicted felons) with no investment experience and a personal/political agenda.

Funding Status:
Percentage funded as of June 2011: P&F 99.9% GRS 82.8%
Amount underfunded as of June 2011: P&F $3.9 million GRS $639.9 million

Notice that this is information is a year [[2011) older that the audit [[2012). This is because the pension funds have the actuarial computation done only every two years. Since that time has elapsed, the P&F fund lost $405 million in assets and had a negative return. Likewise, the GRS fund lost $262 million in asset and had a negative return. So they are below those funding percentages. My guess would be that the percentages are: P&F 89.2% and GRS 75.7%.

By the way, 80.0% is the generally accepted minimal threshold for a fiscally sound pension fund. However, the American Academy of America is now pushing for a 100% standard. One reason for this may be the unrealistic investment assumptions used by pension funds - as I mentioned above. Now if we apply that inconvenient fact, then the funded percentages are: P&F 54.7% and GRS 41.2%

After I wrote that the Detroit News published this:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...xt|FRONTPAGE|p

“If the moderate- to worst-case scenarios are true, then I don't see how Detroit avoids bankruptcy," Eric Scorsone, a Michigan State University economics professor specializing in public finance, told The Detroit News Wednesday. "The pensions are probably dramatically underfunded. Even an emergency manager wouldn't be able to touch pensions.

"You'd be talking about hundreds of millions that would need to be paid into those pension funds. There's a case that you want to try an emergency manager and see if it works because bankruptcy is a very expensive process."

The city's General Retirement System, adjusted for market value of assets and actuarial assumptions, is just 32 percent funded, according to individuals familiar with analysis conducted for the city by an independent consultant. For the Police and Fire Retirement System, the corresponding funding level is 50 percent, in both cases substantially less than officially reported by Detroit.

If two, high-ranking officials [[one, now indicted) of the union did this to my pension fund there for damn sure would be turmoil in the DPOA.

[Smirnoff]

In March 2008, the businessman allegedly paid for Bandemer, Stewart and his mistress to take a ship to Freeport, Bahamas, according to the indictment.....

Mistress definition: A woman who has a continuing sexual relationship with a usually married man who is not her husband and from whom she generally receives material support.

Hey - you guys think it's Miss Carmen Slowski.....

[Smirnoff]

DPOA chums Paul Stewart & Marty Bandemer making headlines again, wonder if they still have their daily assigned table at Sindbad's:

The lawyer helped organize birthday parties at the Atheneum Suite Hotel for Beasley in January 2007 and for Stewart and another pension board trustee in August 2007, according to the indictment.
Many guests were people with financial ties to the pension funds.
"To attend the party, these people were asked to donate large sums of cash for a birthday present," prosecutors allege.
Beasley allegedly received $10,000 at the January 2007 party.
At the August 2007 party, Zajac solicited cash from attendees, according to the indictment.
During the party, Zajac and Stewart met in a back room where Zajac allegedly gave him $5,000, prosecutors said.
Former pension Trustee Marty Bandemer got an identical gift.
According to the indictment, months later trustees gave Zajac a substantial raise after he was said to have solicited cash gifts for Beasley and Stewart.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2QCB0h6Ip

[Wesley Mouch]

Corruption only works when there's someone else to steal from. "Skimming 10% off the top" is only a money-maker when there's something to skim from. It would behoove Metro Detroit to remember that corruption can be a way of making money. It just can't be the primary way everyone makes money.

You need to have someone to steal from, too.

This is the upside of economic downturns. Corruption that gets ignored when times are good gets cleaned up when times are bad.

Like a Phoenix, we can all hope.

[Smirnoff]

Bump for when is Marty going to be indicted?

Zajac and Stewart both are accused of participating in a bribery and kickback conspiracy involving more than $200 million in pension fund investments.
According to the indictment, between 2006 and 2009, Stewart allegedly accepted thousands of dollars in cash, trips, entertainment and other items from people seeking investments from the Police and Fire pension fund.
Among other things, Stewart allegedly received a $5,000 casino chip, a Christmas basket stuffed with cash, $2,500 during a trip to New York City and $2,500 during a trip to Florida. He also allegedly received trips to the Bahamas and Naples, Fla., with his mistress, according to the indictment.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2SdLl4FQb

[Jimaz]

... a Christmas basket stuffed with cash,...

It's bizarre that such a thing even exists.

[Smirnoff]

It's bizarre that such a thing even exists.

Exactly.....should of waited until Easter.