NEW YORK—Financier Steven Rattner has agreed to pay $10 million in restitution to the state of New York for playing dirty with the state’s pension fund.
Rattner served as one of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s top financial advisers and was a founding partner of the equity firm Quadrangle Group, which commands around $3 billion in assets. He recently led the Obama administration’s auto task force.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo had filed two lawsuits against Rattner, alleging that the financier got the business of New York’s pension fund by bribing state officials.
“I am pleased to have reached a settlement with the New York Attorney General’s Office, which allows me to put this matter behind me,” Rattner said in a statement.
Rattner is banned from appearing in any capacity before any public pension fund within New York state for five years. Cuomo initially wanted him to pay $26 million and receive a lifetime ban, according to NY1 News, but Rattner was able to negotiate the penalties down.
The attorney general’s investigation into the dirty politics of the pension fund has secured agreements with 19 firms and five individuals, garnering over $170 million for New York state and the pension fund. The investigation has led to eight guilty pleas, including pleas by former Comptroller Alan Hevesi, his chief political consultant, and his chief investment officer.
