According to a press release put up on this site “New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. and the New York City Pension Funds today announced the expansion of the consolidated class action lawsuit filed against Countrywide Financial Corporation and other defendants. The expanded suit will include 26 different financial services companies that underwrote Countrywide stock and bond offerings, two global accounting firms, and additional Countrywide officers and directors who signed SEC filings that contained false and misleading information about Countrywide’s
business and finances.”
So who do I sue over the fact that former Comptroller McCall asserted that the 2000 pension enhancement would not lead to public service cuts or tax increases because, beginning in 2000, the pension funds would have an 8 percent return? Can we include the legislature, the former Governor, and the former Mayor (who cut his own deal), the heads of the public employee unions, and various other beneficiaries in the lawsuit? Because let’s face it, the idea of coming up with the most optimistic possible projections, backed by deceptive information, to tell the sheep they weren’t getting sheared is a common denominator in each case.
If they are filing lawsuits, that tells me that more service cuts and more tax increases to pay for more pension contributions — even as we are facing other fiscal difficulties — are on the way. So who do I sue?