The Los Angeles Times reported that one of the city’s top pension appointees is seeking reimbursement from taxpayers for his legal bills. Sean Harrigan, former president of Los Angeles’ Fire and Police Pensions board, stated he incurred “significant” attorneys’ fees after an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into California pension funds. Harrigan believes he is entitled to reimbursement because last year Los Angeles paid a former city employee over $100,000 for the legal costs he sustained while he was the target of state and federal investigations into campaign fundraising. However, this former employee was not compensated until each agency confirmed they had dropped their investigations.
The SEC demanded information from Harrigan concerning any private income he received while he sat on the city board. In addition, the SEC required Harrigan’s bank and brokerage accounts to be turned over and inquired into his connections with public pension agencies that were linked to bribery investigations. Lawyers for the city have refused to pay Harrigan’s legal bills due to his lack of cooperation on the matter, saying “we have not received sufficient information to justify the payment of his fees.”
