New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr announced today that trustees of the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund have unanimously agreed to immediately suspend the use of placement agents, firms and middlemen in investments with the Fire Pension Fund.

The Fire Pension Fund is the third New York City Pension Fund to heed Thompson’s call to suspend the use of such agents and firms. The New York City Employees’ Retirement System – the largest of the city’s Pension Funds – and the Police Pension Fund already moved to immediately suspend the use of placement agents, firms and middlemen in investments.

The five Funds have combined assets of $77.1 billion as of March 31. The Fire Pension Fund had about $5 billion in assets as of that date.

Last month, Thompson asked the New York State Attorney General to look into whether the city retirement systems were “intentionally misled or deceived” as to the identities of any placement agents involved in an investment by the city systems in the Quadrangle Group. Thompson’s request was prompted by media reports indicating that Hank Morris and Searle & Company had received a placement fee.

The New York City Pension Funds invested $125 million in Quadrangle in 2005 and 2006, but at no time did the Pension Funds’ consultant ever identify Hank Morris or Searle & Company as a placement agent in that transaction. In fact, in a due diligence questionnaire issued by the Pension Funds’ consultant, Quadrangle identified Monument Group and Helix Associates Limited as the only placement agents.

The Comptroller serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of four of the five Funds and is investment advisor to, and custodian of, the five. Trustees include Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his commissioners, and representatives and appointees from labor unions.

The remaining two funds are the Teachers’ Retirement System and Board of Education Retirement System. Trustees (chairs in bold) are as follows:

New York City Fire Department Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta (Chair); New York City Acting Finance Commissioner Michael Hyman; Stephen Cassidy, President, James Slevin, Vice President, Robert Straub, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; John Dunne, Captains’ Rep.; John J. McDonnell , Chiefs’ Rep., and James J. McGowan, Lieutenants’ Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Joseph Gagliardi, Marine Engineers Association.

New York City Employees’ Retirement System: Bud Larson, Mayor’s Representative (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents Scott Stringer (Manhattan), Helen Marshall (Queens), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), James Molinaro (Staten Island), and Ruben Diaz, Jr. (Bronx); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and, Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

Teachers’ Retirement System: Bud Larson, Mayor’s Representative (Chair); Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, New York City Department of Education; mayoral appointee Tino Hernandez; and, Sandra March, Melvyn Aaronson and Mona Romain, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

New York City Police Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Acting Finance Commissioner Michael Hyman; New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (Chair); Patrick Lynch, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; Edward D. Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Thomas Sullivan, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and, Roy T. Richter, Captains Endowment Association.

Board of Education Retirement System: mayoral appointees Schools Chancellor Joel Klein (Designee, Kathleen Grimm, serves as co-chair), Alan Aviles, Philip Berry, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Edison O. Jackson, Richard Menschel and Marita Regan; Patrick Sullivan (Manhattan), Wendy Gilgeous (Brooklyn), Joan Correale (Staten Island); and Dmytro Fedkowskyj (Queens); Anna Santos (Bronx);  and employee members Joseph D'Amico of the IUOE Local 891 and Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372 (serves as co-chair).