NEW YORK, NY (October 6, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced two guilty pleas in the ongoing investigation relating to the New York State Common Retirement Fund (“CRF”). Raymond Harding, the former chair of the Liberal Party, and Saul Meyer, a founding partner of a Dallas-based firm that advises public pension systems across the nation, both pled guilty to felony securities fraud charges for their involvement in pay-to-play kickback schemes at the New York State Office of the Comptroller and the CRF. “These guilty pleas vividly depict the depth and breadth of corruption involving the New York State pension fund,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “In one case, we see New York’s state pension fund looted to reward a political boss with hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper payments. In the other, we see a pension fund adviser - the outside “gatekeeper” who is supposed to safeguard the integrity of the pension fund process - recommending deals based on pressure fro...