Former Massachusetts corrections commissioner Michael Maloney, rejected in his first bid for an $82,000 annual state pension, has positioned himself for another possible run at a lucrative retirement package, reports the Boston Globe. In December, Maloney, who was forced out of office by Gov. Mitt Romney as part of the fallout from the prison killing of defrocked priest John Geoghan, applied for the state’s most generous pension package, in part because of the dangers Maloney said he faced in dealing with prisoners. A state board rejected he claim that he had served in an inherently risky job, ruling that as a white-collar bureaucrat rarely in contact with prisoners, he did not qualify for a top pension. The board figured his pension at $41,000.
Maloney is back to work in a county correction facility, where pension rules might favor his effort to double his retirement package. Maloney, 53, said yesterday that his pension was not a consideration when he took a job at the Norfolk County Correctional Center. Norfolk County Sheriff Michael Bellotti and Maloney are reportedly in agreement that Maloney job, as programs and classification administrator, does not qualify him for the most generous pension terms. The state correction officers union, which clashed with Maloney, is keeping an eye on his career path. “I don’t know what kind of loophole he thinks he’s found, but we plan to pay attention to what happens,” said Kenny Ferullo, union vice president.