AUGUSTA, Oct. 18, 2023 - Maine’s public employee pension lost almost $22 million in a private equity fund which is being sued by investors claiming it drained the country’s largest peach farmer, Prima Wawona, of operating cash it needed to stay solvent.
That lost $22 million, if invested in Maine's forest product industry, would have brought hundreds of jobs and new plants to replace the lost pulp and paper plants. If it had been used to fund a new commuter aircraft design now ready for launch, it would have been the start-point for 400 new jobs in Maine. If the cash had been used to be seed capital for a new ferry-boat design, that would have launched yet another new industry with hundreds of decent jobs in Maine. Handing over the cash to private-equity thugs is easily the worst possible way to treat pension-fund money. Unreal.
That lost $22 million, if invested in Maine's forest product industry, would have brought hundreds of jobs and new plants to replace the lost pulp and paper plants. If it had been used to fund a new commuter aircraft design now ready for launch, it would have been the start-point for 400 new jobs in Maine. If the cash had been used to be seed capital for a new ferry-boat design, that would have launched yet another new industry with hundreds of decent jobs in Maine. Handing over the cash to private-equity thugs is easily the worst possible way to treat pension-fund money. Unreal.
'Splain that if you can Lucy.