Michael Rodrigues, the former San Benito County sheriff’s sergeant serving a 60 years to life prison sentence for rape, would not have been eligible for post-retirement benefits after his firing and conviction.
Rodrigues was 48 at the time had not reached retirement age when former Sheriff Curtis Hill fired the 25-year office veteran in late 2007 during the sheriff’s investigation into the rape allegations.
A San Benito County jury in September 2009 convicted Rodrigues for raping the three women – one of them in 1999 and 2000, and the others both in 2006. He is serving what likely amounts to a life sentence in prison.
His retirement status has sparked interest in light of revelations that convicts like former Hollister police Sgt. Ray Wood – serving a six-month sentence for embezzling more than $100,000 from the city police union – remain entitled to full pension benefits through the California Public Employees Retirement System. About half of the states in the nation have laws calling for forfeiture of pension benefits if convicted of certain felonies – most of them applicable only when the crimes are related to the convicted public worker’s job duties.
Some California leaders, including Gov. Jerry Brown, are pushing for legislation to strengthen California’s pension forfeiture law – which applies only to elected officials.
Wood collects $6,721 in gross monthly pay from CalPERS, the organization confirmed. That amounts to nearly 90 percent of his final year’s pay as a police sergeant.
Rodrigues, however, does not collect pension benefits from the state retirement system. He was fired before reaching retirement age or submitting retirement paperwork.
Rodrigues is not listed on the county’s health retiree roll – while he would be if retired under CalPERS, which did not have his name listed as receiving a retirement benefit.
