By BRENDAN SCOTT
June 11, 2008
ALBANY - Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli blamed Wall Street yesterday for his decision to dole out fat raises to his pension-investment team as the state grapples with a looming budget crisis.
DiNapoli, the state's top fiscal watchdog, said he approved double-digit wage hikes for some 21 employees who plot investment strategies for the $154 billion fund because he risked losing them to lucrative careers in the private sector.
"We're in New York - we're competing with Wall Street," DiNapoli said.
Thirteen of the raises approved by both DiNapoli and by ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget office in December exceeded 20 percent.
Assistant deputy comptrollers Marjorie Tsang and William Barrett got hikes in excess of 30 percent, bringing each of their salaries to $200,000.
Junior research analyst George Wong saw his salary soar from $38,000 to $62,500.
