By Mr. Curmudgeon
Just when you think things couldn’t get anymore absurd in Obama’s “summer of recovery,” it does. Suspected “Grim Sleeper” serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr., currently standing trial for the murder of 10 Los Angeles women, is the beneficiary of a generous L.A. city pension. As a retired garbage collector (9 years), Franklin “will be paid…until he dies,” reports the LA Weekly, providing “an unsettling new chapter about the ways taxpayer money is spent on municipal retirees.” And as the bloated salaries of Bell, California, city officials attest (retired City Manager Bob Rizzo made $800,000 a year), Golden State taxpayers are the indentured servants of the state’s powerful public employee unions.
Back when Franklin first retired on a disability pension in 1991 (he claimed to have injured his right rotator cuff), he received less than $900 a month. Today, thanks to a formula tied to inflation, his monthly government take is $1,658.54. It’s estimated that Franklin has collected about $300,000 so far. “According to the Office of the City Attorney, Franklin cannot be cut off, even if convicted and sent to death row. He or his family will be paid until he dies,” says the LA Weekly.
As sinister as this is, it gets a lot worse. During his time with L.A.’s Sanitation Department, Franklin filed several IODs (Injured on Duty) claims with the city for the months he allegedly committed his murders. Injuries received while lifting and disposing of his victims may have earned Franklin a city-approved “Injured on Duty” sick leave, which translated into a $2,200 monthly salary to stay home – at least during daylight hours.
Is it beginning to dawn on you yet? Government protects its own. It appears the real Grim Sleepers are California taxpayers who allow corrupt government – state, county and city – to hold sway over their lives. And – as may be proved in one case – end them.
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