Some convicted felons still get pension from Phila.

Can you be a convicted felon and former Philadelphia city employee and still receive a pension? In some cases, the answer is yes.

There are now several former city workers, convicted of crimes, who are receiving city pensions.

Bill Rubin, a former vice president of the Pension Board who resigned to run for City Council, said the rules are murky on when the board can revoke a pension.

“We did the best we could to find them, adjudicate them and then there’s a process from there if they didn’t like it they could appeal that to a three-member panel,” he said. “And then if they weren’t happy with the decision from there, they could take it to court.”

Philadelphia Inspector General Amy Kurland said the city can take pensions only from employees who commit crimes connected to their jobs.

“For example, if someone committed a crime that had nothing to do with their job and it wasn’t bribery of something like that, they could still be entitled to their pension,” she said.

One example is former Police Inspector Daniel Castro, who was convicted of lying to the FBI and kept his pension. Another is former City Councilman Rick Mariano, who lost his pension after a corruption conviction, but later won a court challenge to keep the money he paid into the fund. That case is still on appeal.