Kentucky

By Jack Brammer - jbrammer@herald-leader.com



FRANKFORT ? The agency that oversees retirement benefits for state and county employees is selling a nearly 2-acre piece of property near its headquarters for less than half the price it paid three years ago. The Kentucky Retirement Systems bought the property and a former one-story church in 2006 for $752,000 ? a price that was $302,000 more than a Frankfort veterinarian had paid less than two months earlier. Now, it?s being sold for about $325,000. Though the property is only a smidgen of the pension system?s $11.7 billion portfolio, the questionable financial transaction attracted a state police investigation that hasn?t yet been closed and may lead to a lawsuit. Mike Burnside, executive director of the retirement systems, said he is relieved that the controversial property is being sold. ?Nobody is more glad than I that we are finally putting this behind us. It?s been a long shadow,? Burnside, who became head of the KRS in January 2008, said Tuesday during an interview in his office.