The fight over the retirement benefits for Gerald A. and Dorothy D. Sandusky has been decided. We are fully aware of the vile acts that Coach Sandusky did and was convicted of, well you should also be aware that the Commonwealth Court for the state of Pennsylvania ordered that the state restore his monthly pension. His pension was taken away three years ago when he was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison for sexually abusing 10 boys.
According the associated press “A Commonwealth Court panel ruled unanimously that the State Employees’ Retirement Board wrongly concluded Sandusky was a Penn State employee when he committed the crimes of indecent assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, which were the basis for the pension forfeiture.”
Additionally; “The board conflated the requirements that Mr. Sandusky engage in ‘work relating to’ PSU and that he engage in that work ‘for’ PSU,” wrote Judge Dan Pellegrini. “Mr. Sandusky’s performance of services that benefited PSU does not render him a PSU employee.”
The case dealt with the fact that when Sandusky retired from his position as assistant coach in 1999, he collected a lump sum of $148,000 from the board, and began receiving monthly payments of $4,900, and after his conviction in October 2012 the retirement board ended all payments based on the citation of a provision in the state Pension Forfeiture Act that applies to “crimes related to public office or public employment.”
The judges said the board’s characterization of Sandusky as a Penn State employee at the time those offenses occurred was erroneous because he did not maintain an employer-employee relationship with the university after 1999.
The judge’s in their ruling ordered the board to reinstate his pension retroactively and pay interest for the 3 years of lost payments. There was no mention of how much he could receive in back payments and interest.
Reference
Ex-Coach Jerry Sandusky should get his public pension back: Court (2015, Nov 13). Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/business/retirement/ex-coach-jerry-sandusky-should-get-his-public-pension-back-n462961
Fred Cromartie, Ed. D.
Dr. Cromartie is the Director of Doctoral Studies at the United States Sports Academy. He can be reached at cromarti@ussa.edu