Pension payment debate over retiree

PROVIDENCE, R.I., (WPRI) - New details on a Target 12 Investigators' exclusive, "probing pensions."

We've learned a Providence pension that was revoked nearly two years ago is still being paid out!

It was nearly two years ago the city retirement board voted to slash disgraced Parks Department Supervisor Kathleen Parsons' pension after she was caught stealing thousands of city money to gamble.

Despite that decision, we've learned Parsons is still collecting her $1900 monthly pension check.

In April 2007, the Providence retirement board voted to eliminate 99 percent of Kathleen Parsons' pension.

The disgraced parks worker confessed to embezzling $26,000 from the city to feed a gambling habit.

But a superior court judge has yet to sign off on the decision and Parson's still collects.

Providence City Councilor, John Igliozzi says, "That's a problem, I don't know why it's taking so long."

Igliozzi says the process, is archaic, "At the end of the day if it is upheld, our decision to revoke her pension, we should recoup that money, the question is how do we do it?"

Target 12 has also learned high profile pension cases have rung up big time attorney fees, footed by the taxpayer.

In addition to the $22,000 for the Parsons case, $18,900 has been spent so far on fighting Frank Corrente's pension and a whopping $173,000 has been dished out dealing with the pensions of the retirees caught up in the Providence Police testing scandal.

That's about $214,000 in legal bills for just five pension battles. It's unclear if Parsons will voluntarily give back the near $44,000s she's collected over the last two years in pension payments.

Her attorney has not returned our calls for comment.