Nuke's

Steven Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration’s auto task force, was one of the executives involved with payments under scrutiny in a probe of an alleged kickback scheme at New York state’s pension fund, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A Securities and Exchange Commission complaint says a “senior executive” of Mr. Rattner’s investment firm met in 2004 with a politically connected consultant about a finder’s fee. Later, the complaint says, the firm received an investment from the state pension fund and paid $1.1 million in fees.

The “senior executive,” not named in the complaint, is Mr. Rattner, according to the person familiar with the matter. He is co-founder of the investment firm, Quadrangle Group, which he left to join the Treasury Department to oversee the auto task force earlier this year. Neither Mr. Rattner nor Quadrangle has been accused of any wrongdoing. Mr. Rattner did not return calls for comment. (more at WSJ)

Culture of corruption anyone?

More at NYT …
“Mr. Rattner’s selection for the auto job was a topic of much speculation beginning in January, but it took several weeks to be settled. Two people close to the Obama administration said there were a handful of concerns about Mr. Rattner before he was named to his new position, but they declined to elaborate on what those concerns were.”

Filed under: Democrat Corruption, obama Tagged: | auto czar, culture of corruption, kickback scheme, NYT, quadrangle group, SEC complaint, steven rattner, WSJ