Hey Chris..What's with these "Disabled" Double Dippers in New Jersey?

Meet New Jersey’s “disabled” double-dippers. They get two sets of checks from the state – one for working and another because they cannot work: 

As a lawyer for Gov. Chris Christie, Adam Heck collects a $110,000 state salary – plus an additional $44,000 a year in police pension pay for being ”totally and permanently disabled” in the eyes of New Jersey. 

Scott Jenkins gets $186,000 a year from the state – $93,000 in police disability pay and another $93,000 in salary as a chief investigator in the Division of Consumer Affairs.

Michael Fantini retired on disability as a State Police trooper. Two years later, he was rehired by the State Police – apparently able to work – but the pension checks never stopped. While receiving a full-time salary for the past 14 years, Fantini has also pocketed $750,000 in disability pay. 

A New Jersey Watchdog investigation found 18 state employees who double-dip $2.2 million a year – $1 million in tax-free accidental disability pay plus $1.2 million in salaries.

“These people are playing within the rules of the game,” said John Sierchio, a state pension board member who advocates reform. “But the rules of the game are so absurd, they need to be changed.” 

So far, those 18 employees – all law enforcement retirees – have drawn more than $5 million in disability pay since they returned to work in full-time jobs for state government. Receiving accidental disability benefits for line-of-duty injuries, they will receive two-thirds of their former pay, tax-free for life. 

It is only the tip of what happens in a loophole-riddled police disability pension system that pays out $200 million a year. New Jersey Watchdog’s research did not encompass disability retirees employed by the state’s 21 counties and 565 municipalities.

Because of laws that protect the privacy of governmental employees, information on how and why a public worker is disabled is typically hidden from taxpayers. The process of determining who gets a disability pension occurs behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny.

Read the full story HERE.

And while you're at it Chris, What about the regular, every-day, garden variety, happens all the time in New Jersey Double Dippers?


What's happened to the Chris Christie Agenda?

"RETHINK. REFORM, REBUILD NEW JERSEY."......Come-on...snap out of it.

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