“New York authorities, agencies, and local governments that pay public workers some of the highest salaries and benefits in the state must explain how they are calculated, the attorney general said on Thursday in a new bid to root out abuses. Pension payments to retirees in two funds that are funded by the state’s $129 billion Common Retirement Fund more than doubled to above $7.3 billion in 2009 from $3.5 billion in 1999, Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. By working extra overtime before they retire, public workers can often increase their pension benefits. Cuomo, on a conference call, said that was a ’scam’ that had gone on for decades.” (03/18/10)