Finance officer fired Aug. 24

State Treasurer Janet Cowell said last month that her office's chief investment officer - one of the highest-paid employees in state government - had resigned.

But newly released records show that Cowell fired the officer, Patricia Gerrick, on Aug. 24 because of "a review of various agency records" and "other concerns."

Gerrick, 56, of Durham, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The action came as Cowell sought more than $3,000 in reimbursements from Gerrick tied to cell phone calls on Gerrick's state phone that were "personal in nature," according to Cowell's chief of staff, Ron Ottavio.

In addition, Gerrick has recently updated sworn ethics forms disclosing that outside managers of the state's retirement money had paid for her travel to various meetings.

The ethics disclosure came after a ruling Aug. 13 by state ethics officials that travel-related expenses paid by outside agencies for pension fund employees should be reported on ethics forms. Gerrick had listed no such trips on an April filing.

Gerrick filed an amended return early this month that listed 13 trips provided by fund managers worth a total of $19,965.

Most were for "advisory board" meetings, where Gerrick would get updates on strategy and goals from the firms managing the state's retirement money. Others were for conferences or seminars.

Gerrick listed five other trips that had been provided in 2008, but did not include what they cost. One was to London.

Melissa Waller, a spokeswoman for the treasurer's office, said allowing others to pay Gerrick's way is an acceptable practice as long as there is disclosure and oversight. She would not respond to questions about whether there was proper oversight of Gerrick's travels.

One of the state's leading ethics and government reform advocates, Bob Phillips of Common Cause North Carolina, said the issue raises questions.

"Yes, state funding is limited, but you have to wonder if the state's chief investment officer should be flying and traveling on the dime of those seeking and doing business with the state," Phillips said.

International calls

Gerrick's cell phone logs list calls she made all over the world. Many were to Indiana, where she had worked from 2001 to 2003 as a top manager of that state's pension fund.

Gerrick was fired from her post there in a shake-up, according to memos obtained by The Indianapolis Star. After her firing, Gerrick filed a federal discrimination complaint. She later withdrew it, agreed to resign, and was paid a $212,000 settlement that was kept secret for two years.

In late 2004, Gerrick was hired by former North Carolina Treasurer Richard Moore, a Democrat. This year, Gerrick was paid $340,000 a year to oversee about $60 billion in North Carolina retirement system money.

Cowell, a Democrat, could not be reached for an interview.

Cowell gave Gerrick notice she was being fired on Aug. 24, according to a memo Cowell released to the news media. The firing was effective that day, Cowell wrote. Cowell said Gerrick indicated at the time "she hoped for the opportunity to resign."

The next day, Aug. 25, Gerrick wrote a check to the treasurer's office for $3,045, an amount listed as covering the personal phone calls. That same day, Cowell issued a news release saying Gerrick had resigned.

But on Sept. 4, Gerrick told the treasurer's office lawyer that "she had elected not to resign," according to Cowell's memo. Cowell then delivered to Gerrick the original notice that she was fired.

News researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.

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