($1=1.414 Australian Dollar) (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by James Thornhill) Japan Mexico. By Joan Gralla and Jim Christie Stocks  |  Bonds  |  Funds News  |  ETFs News  |  France NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) – New York state’s publicpension fund scandal took a new twist on Thursday as detailsemerged that a top lawmaker arranged meetings for investmentfirms seeking pension business, and it spread beyond the statewith the revelation of a Los Angeles firm’s ties to one of thescandal’s central figures. Susan Lerner, head of New York’s Common Cause, faulted NewYork State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, forbringing two firms to meet with the current and former statecomptrollers. In New York, the state comptroller is the soletrustee of the $122 billion pension fund, known as the NewYork State Common Retirement Fund. “I think in New York we have no ethics to speak of,”Lerner told Reuters. A spokesman for Silver confirmed the meetings took place,but said Silver was paid no fees and the New York statepension fund did not hire the investment firms.

One meeting was with former Democratic state ComptrollerAlan Hevesi, whose top fund-raiser, Henry Morris, was indictedlast month in a pension kickback scheme For more details,please click on: [ID:nN22149531] A lawyer for Morris has said his client is innocent. The speaker, Silver, arranged for Hevesi to meet with himand Jerusalem Global Ventures, and he also arranged forEnvironmental Capital Partners in New York to meet withcurrent state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, according toThursday’s New York Daily News. Neither company’s spokesman was immediately available forcomment A spokesman for DiNapoli, a Democrat, confirmed themeeting. CALIFORNIA AND WASHINGTON MEETINGS The state pension probe has already widened to New YorkCity, and Morris has ties to other state funds, including the$176 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System,also known as Calpers, the $114 billion California StateTeachers’ Retirement System, and the $68 billion WashingtonState Investment Board.

The funds said they met with Los Angeles-based WetherlyCapital Group, which is linked to Morris in the indictment Wetherly was not immediately available for comment. “Wetherly is a placement agent and they have met with ourstaff on a number of occasions,” said Pat Macht, a spokeswomanfor Calpers. The nation’s biggest pension fund has invested inprivate equity funds promoted by Wetherly, she said. However, “our senior investment officer (for privateequity) says he has never had any dealings with Hank Morris,”she said.

Wetherly is listed as a placement agent for two 2007 funddeals in which the California State Teachers’ RetirementSystem, best known as Calstrs, invested. But Calstrs has no direct relationship with placementagents, including Wetherly, Calstrs spokeswoman Sherry Resersaid in an e-mail to Reuters. “It is the general partner thathas the relationship with a placement agent,” she said Wetherly has also approached the Washington state fund. “We’ve met with them, but have never invested in any ofthe funds they’ve presented,” said the Washington fund’sspokeswoman Liz Mendizabal. Wetherly’s connection to Morris has at the very leastcaught the attention of California officials.

“As a general matter, we’re interested in matters offinancial wrongdoing, but we don’t confirm investigations,”said Scott Gerber, a spokesman for California Attorney GeneralJerry Brown. NEW YORK’S MARTIN ACT On Wednesday, New York’s DiNapoli banned the use of allplacement agents for the state pension fund. But Lerner of Common Cause said New York’s ethics lawsstill need improvement, adding the state Commission on PublicIntegrity has no jurisdiction over lawmakers. “The legislature sort of self-polices and it doesn’t setrules for these sorts of issues,” she said. New York does, however, have a powerful investigatory toolin its securities law, called the Martin Act. “It’s fair to say that is one of the most broadly draftedstatutes that are out there; it’s way broader than federalsecurities laws,” said Chris Clark, a white-collar criminaldefense lawyer and a partner with Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.