Public Money Appellate court denies pensions based on criminal convictions
August 28, 2008
By: Review Staff
ormer state Senate President W.D. Childers and a former Hollywood police officer are out of the running for public pensions due to criminal convictions, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday in separate cases. The court upheld a state decision yanking Childers’ pension based on his 2002 bribery and unlawful compensation conviction for crimes committed while serving as an Escambia County commissioner. Childers argued he deserved his pension for his 30 years as a legislator plus time as a public schoolteacher because those positions did not overlap with the corruption offenses. “We find the forfeiture statute can be constitutionally applied to the forfeiture of the employee’s pension,” the court concluded. The court also ruled former Hollywood officer Thomas Simcox may not recoup his retirement benefits. He resigned last year after he was charged in a heroin distribution conspiracy; he pleaded guilty in federal court shortly afterward. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he admitted escorting heroin truck drivers and taking $8,000 to protect a deliveryman. Simcox argued he was still entitled to his pension because he didn’t act as a drug escort while on police duty. The court concluded Simcox and other Hollywood officers were recruited because of their specialized knowledge as law enforcement officers, and he should forfeit his retirement benefits.
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