Gov. Peter Shumlin issued the following statement following news today of a settlement in the James Deeghan fraud case:
"I am glad that Mr. Deeghan has admitted his guilt, and I congratulate the prosecutors who worked hard to ensure that justice was served. While our thorough investigation determined that Mr. Deeghan's fraud was an isolated case, we have put safeguards in place at the Department of Public Safety to prevent this abuse from occurring in the future. Fortunately, Mr. Deeghan will reimburse taxpayers for the full amount of his fraud over the next six years through deductions from his pension payments. We are pushing lawmakers this session to change the law so that if this sort of crime does occur again, public employee pensions may be forfeited."