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December 31, 2008

Sexual predator Ortloff will get pension

Constitution shields former lawmaker, admitted sex criminal

By DENISE A. RAYMO

PLATTSBURGH -- The State Constitution guarantees former Assemblyman Chris Ortloff will receive at least a $53,000 annual pension for life.

During a teleconference with a U.S. District Court judge on Christmas Eve, Ortloff, 61, of Plattsburgh pleaded guilty to a charge of online enticement of minors. He had been caught trying to set up a sexual encounter with young girls.

He is free on $100,000 bail until his sentencing on April 23, where he could face between 10 years and life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

HOME CONFINEMENT
Ortloff is under a lengthy list of release conditions, including 24-hour home confinement with an ankle alarm, said Plattsburgh City Police Chief Desmond Racicot.

He is allowed out of the house for two hours a week for scheduled doctors' appointments or other approved reasons.

Ortloff is restricted from using a computer, unless he is under the supervision of a probation officer, and he is not allowed to attend any functions when people under age 18 will be present.

PENSION
New York has no laws that prevent public officials who commit crimes from collecting annual pension payments.

The exact amount he will receive will not be known until Ortloff actually applies for benefits, but published estimates show he stands

to collect at least $53,000 annually for his years of service under the state-pension system.

But, in general, a lien or judgment can be placed against an awarded pension to collect any fines or penalties that might be imposed during sentencing, Dennis Tompkins of the State Comptroller's Office said Tuesday.

Ortloff, a Republican who served in the State Assembly from 1986 to mid 2006, was arrested Oct. 13 as part of a State Police sting operation where he arranged -- through use of the Internet -- to meet two young girls at an Albany motel room for sex.

But while he thought he was communicating with the girls' mother, Ortloff was actually chatting online with an undercover State Police investigator.

He was arrested without incident at the motel, where investigators found sexual devices, lubricants and other items he planned to use.

After the arrest, Ortloff resigned his position with the State Board of Parole, a $105,000-a-year job he was appointed to in June 2006 by former Gov. George Pataki.

Before his 20-year career in the Assembly, he was an anchorman with WPTZ News Channel Five in Plattsburgh.

During his tenure in Albany, Ortloff was an outspoken supporter of tougher laws against sex offenders.

PENSION GUARANTEE
State Assembly member Robert Reilly (D-Colonie) introduced a bill earlier this year calling for a loss of pension benefits to all public officials convicted of a felony in relation to their duties.

But the bill died without any action being taken and would not have covered felony convictions unrelated to a person's official governmental duties anyway.

Only Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Massachusetts have laws that force forfeiture of taxpayer-funded pensions.

Since July 1940, the State Constitution has guaranteed that any public official's employment establishes a contractual relationship between that individual and the state.

MAKING A CHANGE
The only way to change that is to amend the State Constitution.

That is accomplished by having a bill ratified by two separate state legislatures, Sen. Betty Little (R-Queensbury) said this week.

If a bill were presented in 2009, the seated 2009-10 legislature would have to approve it, and a new legislature elected in 2011 would also need to OK it. Then, the measure could be presented to voters on the November 2011 ballot.

Little says it is time elected officials passed a law that stops disgraced public officials from collecting public benefits.

"This topic has become really important. And this has been a there-is-nothing-to-brag-about year, starting with Hevesi and Spitzer," referring to former State Comptroller Alan Hevesi and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who both resigned amid scandals earlier this year.

Her research found that eligible people can collect Social Security benefits while in prison. Their monthly check can be deposited into their prison account to be spent while they are incarcerated, or the inmate can have the money sent home.

"It seems to me that when someone violates the public trust, the public shouldn't have to pay them a pension," Little said. "I never expected we'd have so many people in the legislature violating the public trust.

"When they take the oath of office, they swear to uphold the law, so they are also violating their oath of office.

"I think the people's perception of the legislature has gone downhill, and it hurts everyone," Little said.

"You have to wonder how these people have the arrogance to be able to swear to uphold the law and work to create laws at the same time they are violating them."

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