John B. Barranco, the former education official under criminal investigation for allegedly siphoning more than $10 million from a Merrimack Valley agency for special needs children, will begin collecting his $10,000 monthly teachers pension again, at least temporarily, after a decision reached last week by a Middlesex Superior Court judge.
The Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System had cut off Barranco’s pension checks in October 2011, concluding that he had already collected more than $750,000 in pension funds he was not entitled to receive. At the time, the board said it would withhold Barranco’s pension for 6½ years to recoup the money.
Comments
$10,000 a month. Wow. This is what's wrong with the pension system, not the hard working slobs that get $35,000 a year.
WHY do state employees who steal very large sums of money not get prosecuted?
John B. Barranco ought to be in jail because he STOLE a great deal of money. Michael McLaughlin of the Chelsea Housing Authority ought to be in jail. Former Massachusetts Probation Commissioner John O'Brien ought to be in jail, Thomas M. Finneran, the former House speaker who pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in 2007 ought to have gone to jail . . . the list goes on and on.
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nice to be connected......pays well.
Why the hell isn't this guy in prison?
Ties to Deval?
Impossible for you to discuss an issue without a political swipe that has no basis in fact. This guy is a cheap crook milking the system. That's it.
Situations like this one make me wish that there was a justice system in place that could restore some dignity to those of us who crave it.
I'm sure there's a quote by Jefferson that would be perfect here but I'm striking out in finding the right one.
How about "I find that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."
Score!
Where's painful terminal cancer when you need it?
This is disgusting
Due process, gotta love it. Even for scumbugs who abuse the system, who know how the game is played in Massachusetts (and, to be honest, pretty much everywhere). Only good thing is that his lawyers will probably get most of the money.
It is against this backdrop that the governor aks the taxpayers for more. If this personworked for a bank, the politicians would be stampeding over each other to get to the microphones and cameras. Yet all we hear is...nothing. The financially rapacious behavior these people freely exhibit undermines government's credibility.
Whatever the law provides for the law allows. Doesn't mean they are good laws or fair laws or protect the overall interest of the public at large and yes there is still due process in our great republic, especially when you afford it.
Due process is only afforded to people with money or to the very poor who get free attorneys and that doesn't do too much for them either. Its an old boys club and you can't figure who knows who. Try having a ticket- the kind you figure for a slam dunk and that most people would deem ridiculous - heard at Roxbury Court. They make up their mind by the cut of your jib and the name of the idiot cop who gave you the ticket since he's not required to be there. Meanwhile, you pay a non-refundable $25. for the PRIVILEGE of a hearing. Jaysus, help me. This state stinks to the high heavens.
So, how did this guy escape the scrutiny of the government watchdogs that roam these pages? Come on, who makes $500,000 a year and then lines up for a $10,000 per month pension?
When you know who to pay off and how to pay off, it's easy.
The lack of oversight is stunnning, isn't it. This is what happens in a state dominated by one party, and yet the moronic voters of Massachusetts continue to elect only Democrats.
Clearly our judicial system needs revision! There are so many things wrong with this scenario I don't knwo where to begin! DIsgusting.
Yet if you are 80 years old, get a $20, 000 a year, not a month, pension your widow's social security pension is reduced because you collect that princely sum. This is madness.
Isn't that the truth? Why are we so powerless to do something about stuff like this? This Judge is a total moron. How could it have been framed to him to make him re-instate this thief's pension? They're all in the bag.
Another pathetic decision by the court, which only feeds into the lawyer/judge revolving door relationship.
A judge with common sense would have ordered the money held in an escrow account until the verdict.
However, reasonable protection of those funds will not occur because the lawyer/judge fraternity will insure that the money goes into the "lawyer/judge fraternity."
Based on this decision, if the verdict comes in "guilty," the money will be gone - divided up by the "boys."
Based on my direct knowledge, many court decisions mask a massive con game, which should be stopped.
dougkinan@yahoo.com
Sworn and Commisssioned Officer - Massachusetts Trial Court (Retired)
Barranco is 70 years old and has already "earned" over $700,000 in pension payments. Guess what folks? The taxpayers of Massachusetts are funding thousands of such pensions which make public workers MULTI-MILLIONAIRES in retirement. Let that sink in a bit......to generate $100,000 a year income over the course of a likely 20 year retirement a PRIVATE SECTOR individual would have to compile investments exceeding $1,000,000 and average a 7% return. If they can't get 7%? They'd better have a lot more than a million dollars saved. Barranco, at only 70, is already almost past his first million. Does anyone want to bet that he and/or his surviving spouse will live another 10 or 15 years to 80 or 85? That means (at least) another million in investment assets need to be invested TODAY in order to cover the costs of such pensions......oh, and those investments better perform nearly twice as well as most investments have over the last 5 years. Do taxpayers know state workers are functional millionaires at retirement? That's now the compensation standard for public employement? You, literally, get rich working for the state for 25 years and become one of the "One Percent" that, recently, was supposed to be the most dispised class of people in America? Where's the liberal "outrage" over this GREED?
Ya, $35,000 (the average pension) a year is a millionare. Ok.
Most public pensions are between $10,000 to $30,000. The money goes to the big shots who get huge pay because they're connected. The rest get dregs. Believe me the pay doesn't compare to the private sector and raises come, if you're lucky, every 5 or 6 years and are pitiful anyway. I am in a position to KNOW. Also, 2/3 of your state pension is taken away by SS if you are a widow. So if you get $1,000 a month state pension (average), $666. of it is removed from your Social Security pension. Wish I knew that, I wouldn't have worked for the government at all. How do they expect people to manage on this? Oh I get it...only the big shots deserve to live.
SEAN MURPHY...GET TO WORK. You've done such fine work in similar areas. Start by answering the $10,000 monthly question.