DROP participants will retire and return
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DROP participants will retire and return
Jan Ransom
City Councilwoman Marian Tasco will retire on Friday, collect a six-figure pension payment and then return to work after she is sworn-in on Monday to serve her seventh term.
Francis Bielli, executive director for the city’s Board of Pensions and Retirement, said he was recently notified that Tasco, who is enrolled in the controversial Deferred Retirement Option Plan, will retire on Friday and collect $478,057.
Tasco did not respond to requests for comment.
Tasco was reelected despite her participation in DROP, which drew public ire after elected officials entered the program, ran for re-election and retired for a day to get hefty pension payments, only to return to office.
Retiring Councilman Frank DiCicco, who is also in the program, considered running for re-election, but after controversy erupted over DROP, he decided not to. Retiring Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, who is also enrolled in DROP made a similar decision. Councilman Frank Rizzo lost reelection due in-part to his participation in DROP. Retiring members Jack Kelly and Council president Anna Verna are also DROP participants.
Some City Hall insiders said DROP was Tasco’s biggest roadblock in her unsuccessful bid for Council president –the second most politically powerful job in the city. Several incoming members said they would not support a DROP participant for president. Councilman Darrell Clarke will be Council’s next president replacing Verna.
Mayor Nutter has tried in vain to eliminate the DROP program. In September, Council voted to override Nutter’s veto of a bill, sponsored by Tasco that would preserve the DROP program, while reducing its cost.
Nutter has vowed to work “tirelessly” to abolish the program.
Another elected official set to return after collecting his DROP payment is Register of Wills Ronald Donatucci, who retired Dec. 23 and will also return on Monday, Bielli said. He collected $366,797.
Deadbeat!!!!!— quigly46
Seriously, how do you collect a pension for the same exact job/position that you are working in? This is ridiculous.— kjuggs77- the country is laughing at you Philly. are you voters crazy!!!— jstash
Comment removed.- Last time I checked Frank Rizzo was a Republican and he took the drop money and ran again....It is not a party it is a GREED THING!!! — pyle70
- Comment removed.
- @ just honest: You are being less than honest if you are so ignorant not to recognize that this whole DROP issue crosses party lines. You also fail to recognize the fact that since the repugs infiltrated the ranks of the Parking Authority, they have been stealing money hand over fist. When it comes to corruption, Rizzo junior will never beat his old man in that catagory, but he did take the money, run, and come back. And yes, the people in his district (WHITE PEOPLE) did vote for him! — lalaw9833
- Why I left Philadelphia and why I'll never return. The city is a corruption-ridden, performance -plagued place. The rest of the nation sees the city as a joke, despite the good that Mayor Nutter is trying to do.— patrick125
- For everyone here saying "this is why i left Philly"....I bet there is corruption in the little suburban township too. Politics are politics no matter where you live — Kcrul147
- Forget Parking Wars- I want a tv show about Philadelphia local politics.— kjuggs77
- Hey! I am in the DROP program too. I've got to work 'till I drop.— BillyBob369
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- Marian gets her just desserts, though- no Council Prez for you!— Tedyuscung
- The people who elect these criminals get what they deserve.— ej610
- She ran unopposed. She was in whether you voted for her or not. — KittyCarlyle
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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