Atlantic City public safety director owes $100k for pension collection

Already not the most popular among Atlantic City’s officials, Public Safety Director Christine Petersen is going to have a hard time explaining this one.

The state pension board ruled yesterday Petersen owes more than $100,000 for pension payments she wrongfully collected.

When Petersen retired from her role at the Jersey City Police Department last February, she began collecting more than $6,000 a month in pension payments, the Press of Atlantic City reports.

But Petersen took the public safety director job that March — well before the six-month wait period required between retiring from one job and taking another. Therefore, the Treasury Department doesn’t see that as a true retirement.