A recalculation of disability pension money for a former police officer of Westchester County has given the 47 year old officer $176,133 a year for the rest of his life.
Gerardo Gizzo will now receive double his base pay when he retires, an amount that has gone up to a tax-free total of $183,213. It is the fourth largest state pension in the Lower Hudson Valley, outdoing the $179,000 one received by retired Yonkers police Captain Patrick McMahon.
Gizzo was injured as an on-duty officer on the Hutchinson River Parkway in 2008. His disability retirement was approved two years later after he had put in 23 years of service.
State retirement officials has noticed the error made in the original pension calculation and made the determination that retroactive payments from the county should have been utilized to make the pension determination. Gizzo has said he did not ask for a review of the calculation.
Gizzo had received additional credit for compensatory time which had not been considered at his retirement. The additional amount gave Gizzo an annual salary of $245,000 and his pension is 75% of that amount since he retired disabled. Had he not retired with a disability, his pension would have been 50% of his final salary average which would come to $61,000 less per year.
Gizzo had been one of the county’s biggest earners of overtime owners before he was injured. The Comptroller’s Office oversees the pension systems for the local municipal and state employees. The office stated it is the obligation of theirs to review the breakdown of compensation earned and apply amounts appropriate for the time period.