New York Daily news
Ex-MF Global boss quits Controller John Liu’s office
Thursday December 8, 2011
A top aide to embattled City Controller John Liu has abruptly resigned - just three months after he took the job.
The hiring of Kevin Davis, a former chief executive at the Jon Corzine-led investment firm which lost more than $1.2 billion of its clients’ money, raised eyebrows when he took the city position in September.
Davis quit Wednesday, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. His departure is the latest blow to Liu, whose fundraising practices are currently being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Davis, who made $175,000 a year while on the city payroll, worked as head of commodities in the controller’s Office of Bureau Management.
Liu did not seek his resignation, according to the Journal report.
Davis worked for more than a decade at MF Global but was not involved with the collapse connected to former NJ Gov. Corzine, who is due to testify on Capitol Hill Thursday about the missing money.
But Davis was in charge when a rogue trader at MF Global lost $141 million for the company - an incident that observers believe was the first serious hit to the firm, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
His employment in Liu’s office was a sensitive subject for the controller, who was long considered a formidable 2013 formidable mayoral candidate.
But Liu’s political future is now in serious doubt, as the former Queens Councilman has had to fend off some calls to step down amid a series of scandals seemingly connected to his office.
One of Liu’s top moneymen was arrested last month on charged he illegally diverted $16,000 into the controller’s campaign.
Liu, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, has also had to defend himself against charges that donations to his campaign were made in the names of people who now say they never gave cash to the mayoral hopeful.
The Daily News reported Thursday that Liu this week gave discretionary pay raises to members of his staff - which drew fire from good government groups.
The vast majority of the 126 employees who are receiving the raises, which range from 3% to 8%, are members of District Council 37.
A Liu spokesman denied that the pay bumps were connected to DC 37’s support for Liu’s plan to form a “super” pension board to reform the city’s pension system.
No comments:
Post a Comment