Marzilli Seeks to Boost Pension

State Senator Jim Marzilli is pictured at left in court recently with his lawyer, Terrence Kennedy. Photo courtesy Gatehouse Media.

Disgraced State Senator Asks to Double Pension

– Allison Goldsberry

Former State Senator and State Representative for Arlington and Medford James Marzilli, who is facing criminal charges for attempted sexual assault, is invoking a little-known law in an effort to increase his state pension.

According to the Boston Globe, Marzilli asked the state Board of Retirement to nearly double his pension from $14,000 to $27,000 yearly, citing a law that allows public employees under age 55 with more than twenty years of creditable service to increase their pension if they fail to be reelected.

Marzilli is facing criminal charges for accosting and attempting to sexually assault four women in Lowell in June. He officially resigned his seat in November after facing public criticism for representing the State Senate on a trip to Germany. However, Marzilli still remained on the ballot for the November election because his resignation and prior announcement that he would not seek re-election came after the ballot deadline.

The Globe reports the retirement board is awaiting the outcome of Marzilli’s criminal trial, set for April 2009, before making a decision about his pension. If convicted, Marzilli could lose his pension altogether.

Sen. Marzilli has been free on $1,500 cash bail since pleading not guilty at his arraignment. His lawyer, Terrence Kennedy, maintains his client is innocent and says he is suffering from a “fairly serious mental health condition.” On June 5, he was admitted to McLean Hospital, where he has been treated for bipolar disorder.

Marzilli served for seventeen years as a state representative for Arlington and Medford before being elected to the State Senate in a special election last year.  He also spent three years as an aide to the House Rules Committee and two years working for the Arlington town government, according to The Globe.