STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. MICHAEL STEELE A-3295-09T1
As required by the plain language of the new mandatory pension forfeiture statute, we interpreted N.J.S.A. 43:1-3.1a as mandating forfeiture of only the portion of the defendant's pension that was earned as a member of the retirement fund that he participated in at the time he committed the offense and that covered the position involved in the offense. We rejected the trial court's determination that it had the discretion to limit the forfeiture to the credit earned from the date of the first criminal act alleged in the indictment forward, and the State's interpretation that the statute requires forfeiture of all pension credit, including credit earned as a member of a separate pension system that did not cover the position involved in the offense. 5-19-11
