News from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb
Assembly Office:
933 Legislative Office Building • Albany, NY 12248 • (518) 455-3751
District Offices:
607 West Washington Street • Suite 2 • Geneva, NY 14456 • (315) 781-2030
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For Release: IMMEDIATELY, July 29, 2015
Contact: Michael Fraser, (518) 455-3751
Kolb: Assembly Majority Protecting Joyce Mitchell's Pension
"The only people who think Joyce Mitchell deserves a taxpayer-funded retirement are Assembly Majority members … and Joyce Mitchell."

Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,C-Canandaigua) issued the following statement on the plea agreement of Joyce Mitchell, the Clinton Correctional Facility employee who helped convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape from the maximum security prison.

"Joyce Mitchell's retirement will be paid for by the taxpayers of New York State - and she can thank Assembly Majority members for their ineptitude as she cashes her pension checks.

Assembly Majority members walked away from an agreed-upon pension forfeiture bill that had passed the Senate and targeted public employees found guilty of abusing their positions. They later replaced it with a watered-down version that had no chance of becoming law and contained an exemption that protects the pensions of Joyce Mitchell and other convicted individuals.

This woman used her position in the prison to help two convicted murderers escape, setting off a three-week manhunt that cost $1 million a day. Her actions put families, law-enforcement officers and entire communities in immediate danger. The fact that she is eligible to receive a public pension is unconscionable, and insults every taxpayer in this state.

Assembly Minority members have sponsored pension forfeiture legislation since 2010. The reluctance of the Assembly Majority to get serious about pension removal continues to cost the people of New York State. Apparently the only people who think Joyce Mitchell deserves a taxpayer-funded retirement are Assembly Majority members … and Joyce Mitchell."