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Steven Rattner Fires Back at Andrew Cuomo Over Pension Fund Scandal

By DNAinfo Staff on November 23, 2010 2:06pm

Financier Steven L. Rattner, who advised President Barack Obama and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, faces charges for allegedly bribing an aide to to the former New York City Comptroller.
Financier Steven L. Rattner, who advised President Barack Obama and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, faces charges for allegedly bribing an aide to to the former New York City Comptroller.
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Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

By Mariel S. Clark

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — Less than a week after State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed two lawsuits against former Obama Auto Czar Steven Rattner, the Manhattan financier defended himself Monday on the "Charlie Rose" television show.

Rattner is accused of paying kickbacks in order to obtain $150 million in investments from the New York State pension fund for his former private equity firm, the Quadrangle Group.

During the interview with Rose, Rattner accused the governor-elect of actions "close to extortion."

"He has basically threatened me all along the way that if I don't do what he wants me to do, he will prosecute me to the ends of the earth," Rattner said from the WNET studios in Manhattan, adding that he had been more than cooperative during the investigation.

In order to avoid litigation, Rattner settled a civil suit with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week and agreed to pay $6.2 million and accept a ban from "associating with any investment adviser or broker dealer" for two years.

But Cuomo decided "that he would prefer to sue than settle," Rattner told Rose.

"I don't really get it, I don't think it serves the people of New York well," he said. "I was perfectly prepared to reach a reasonable settlement, as I did with the SEC, but I'm not going to be bullied by Andrew Cuomo and I'm not going to agree to something that I don't believe is fair."

Cuomo's office is seeking $26 million in penalties from Rattner and wants to ban him from the securities industry for life.

"Rattner was willing to do whatever it took to get his hands on pension fund money including paying kickbacks, orchestrating a movie deal, and funneling campaign contribution, Cuomo's office said in a statement last week.

"We will recover his ill gotten gains and hold Rattner accountable."

Quadrangle Group has stopped seeking new investors and will likely not exist in its current form for much longer, reported the New York Post.

After leaving Quandrangle, Rattner was a leader of the White House's task force that restructured the auto industry. He also authored a book about the bailouts entitled "Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry."