Mass. Treasurer Launches Pension Abuse Probe

The state Treasurer is investigating whether a Merrimack Valley government agency that educates special needs students has become a haven for pension abuse by giving people no-show jobs to boost their state pensions.

Treasurer Steve Grossman's office wants to know whether people who reported working for the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative, whose executive director took a leave of absence last month amid allegations of excessive salaries and perks to insiders, were genuine state employees.

The state Inspector General has already said that lobbyist Richard McDonough obtained a $31,000 state pension after years of being listed as an employee of the collaborative while holding a no-show job.

A Grossman spokesman tells The Boston Globe pension abuse is "unacceptable."

A spokeswoman for the agency could not be reached for comment.