NEW YORK, NY May 31, 2007 —The State of New Jersey's management of its' public pension plans is now under the scrutiny of the Securities Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

With a terse statement on it's web site, the state Treasury Department confirms that its Division of Pensions and Benefits is the subject of an SEC probe done in cooperation with the office of US Attorney Chris Christie. Going back as far as the Whitman Administration, the state's handling of the pension system has earned the ire of the public unions that depend on it and who insisted the plans were under funded.

For years lawmakers expanded benefits and chose not to make over 8 billion dollars in suggested contributions into the system. The recent federal investigation appears to have been prompted back in April after the New York Times reported the state had misrepresented how much money was in the fund to potential bond buyers. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly.