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CalPERS Paid $11M Legal Bill For Internal Review

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The California Public Employees' Retirement System paid $11 million to an East Coast law firm for an internal review of the nation's largest public pension fund.

   The Los Angeles Times says some lawyers and financial experts are surprised by the high legal fees and suggested investigative work could have been done by the California attorney general's office, which has sued two former CalPERS officials over fraud allegations.

   CalPERS oversees a $232 billion fund.

   The 18-month review by Washington, D.C.'s Steptoe & Johnson firm found support for allegations of corruption, bribery and influence peddling.

   CalPERS says it used the review's findings to negotiate $215 million in fee reductions from private equity investment managers who handle large assets.

   CalPERS chief investment officer Joseph Dear says the study was worth the cost.

  
   (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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