Give Back The Money, Tom Wolf!

HARRISBURG — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Communications Director Megan Sweeney released the following statement regarding the PA GOP’s new online petition, which calls on Tom Wolf to reimburse the state for the funds it lost while taking part in a business deal with Wolf in 2006.

“Tom Wolf made millions of dollars at the expense of Pennsylvania taxpayers and retirees,” Sweeney said. “For months, Tom Wolf has denied that Pennsylvania has a pension crisis, without once acknowledging his role in making it worse. Now Tom Wolf is spending millions of dollars on his campaign for Governor rather than reimbursing the retirees and taxpayers who lost funds.

“Is Tom Wolf’s idea of a ‘fresh start’ leaving retirees holding the bag?

“Tom Wolf may be trying to ignore the pension crisis because of a guilty conscience, but Pennsylvanians want to have answers to the lingering questions that remain. We invite all those who want answers to sign this petition and send Tom Wolf a message that it is time to come clean.”

According to a report in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tom Wolf made millions in 2006 by selling the Wolf Organization to investors that included the investment group Weston Presidio Fund V. The Fund’s largest investor is the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System.

“In reports to investors, the buyout fund that financed that deal, Boston-based Weston Presidio Fund V, says its investment in the Wolf Organization is worth just $22 million — a big drop from the $41 million Weston has invested in the company since 2006… The fund’s partial buyout of Wolf’s firm benefited him and his two cousins, but it has been a loss so far for the fund’s investors, the largest of which is Pennsylvania’s underfunded State Employees Retirement System (SERS). SERS voted in December 2004 to invest $50 million in the fund, said SERS spokeswoman Pamela Hile.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Behind Tom Wolf’s business success, a more complicated picture,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/3/14)

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