St. Lucie County, Florida | January 15, 2024
In a shocking Christmas-time taxpayer money grab, political greed unfolds in St. Lucie County, Florida. Politician Diamond Litty shamelessly exploits her position to pocket an outrageous $1.1 Million taxpayer-funded pension bonus. This display of gluttony sets a new low for political personal enrichment, particularly for a Politician charged with the task of “Public Defender” .
Republican Diamond Litty’s pension cash bonus, originally $641,435, scheduled for payment on December 31, 2023, proved inadequate for her insatiable appetite. Demonstrating cunning maneuvering, Litty submitted paperwork in June 2023, breaking an earlier contract promise to resign by December 31, 2023. This move allowed her to pursue an additional three years of pension bonus time, elevating her Diamond Pension Bonus total to an indefensible $1,161,730, with a monthly taxpayer-funded pension soaring from $6,414 to $11,697.
“Sneaky Politician Diamond Bonus Litty is greedy. How many gourmet meals, luxury cars, and vacation homes does one person need or can even use?” – Dave Jaye, Tripledippers.org Research Fellow
Pension Plotter Diamond Liddy, 67, takes a base paycheck of $212,562, plus pension, plus approximately $85,024 in annual benefits and doesn’t contribute the standard 3% of her salary ($6,376) to the Florida Pension program, like all other public employees.
Diamond Liddy’s cunning attempt to amass a $1.1 million pension cash bonus faces a significant challenge as she seeks re-election in 2024, despite exploiting taxpayers by breaking a contract promise to resign by December 31, 2023, to collect a $1.1 million pension cash bonus. Additionally, her June 2023 application to create a new contract for the $1.1 Million Pension bonus failed to specify the signing date, raising concerns about document accuracy in the Public Defenders Office.
While Politician Million Dollar Diamond Litty takes bushels of taxpayer money, St. Lucie County suffers with a poverty rate of 13.7%, almost ten percent higher than the statewide average of 12.7% . The average St. Lucie County worker earns $46,436 and would need to work over 25 years to match Politician Public Defender Diamond Litty’s pension cash bonus of $1,161,730.
As the Elected Public Defender representing St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties, Million-Dollar Diamond Litty’s staggering $1,161,730 pension cash bonus could fund 65,374 tutor hours for high school students enhancing job and college readiness. Only 5% of Treasure Coast High School students are college-ready, 49% are proficient in Reading, and 28% in Math. Yet, 87% graduate with degrees often deemed worthless.
Governor Jim DeSantis signed SB 7024 effective July 1, 2023 allowing the option for politicians and bureaucrats to extend pension bonuses by 60% from 5 to 8 years and up to ten year for School Employees . The Triple Dipper Pension Bonus system created $39 billion in unfunded Florida Retirement obligations, amounting to a $1,725 liability for every man, woman, and child in Florida.
For a comprehensive list of the names, employers and pension cash bonuses of approximately 26,000 Florida’s Triple Dippers, visit https://tripledippers.org/fl-statewide-2023-june-28537-tripledippers/.
