Pensions for felons

Martin Vohwinkel, 56, pleaded for leniency last Friday as a judge contemplated how long to send him to prison for trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl.

The 29-year-veteran of the Clark County Fire Department was arrested last February after an undercover police officer noticed an online posting from someone seeking to meet a “very young girl.” Police played along and eventually arrested Vohwinkel in a Henderson parking lot where he thought he was going to meet his Internet friend.

Regular viewers of the To Catch a Predator segments with Chris Hansen on “Dateline NBC” will recognize the routine.

In the end, Vohwinkel’s wish for leniency was granted — U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt gave him the mandatory minimum of 10 years. He will also face lifetime supervision after his release.

Of greater note, however: Vohwinkel — who was listed as the 18th highest paid county employee in 2008, when his firefighter salary topped $230,000 — will continue to receive his six-figure taxpayer-funded pension while he serves his sentence.

That is an outrage.

Unfortunately, it is also the norm across the country.

For instance, a July 7 story in the Buffalo News revealed that scores of jailed New York public employees continue to bank their generous pensions — the list includes corrupt cops, even politicians convicted of defrauding the taxpayers. Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer — forced out of office after a prostitution scandal — remains entitled to an annual $25,000 payout he can begin collecting in six years when he turns 55.

In response to such nonsense, a handful of New York lawmakers have proposed reforming how government pensions are handled for those convicted of criminal activity. One bill applies only to elected officials and would allow the courts to take benefits from those who are convicted. The other would give courts jurisdiction to decide how much of a pension any convicted public employee is entitled to.

Yes, legal controveries might surround such measures. Where do spouses or children fit in, for example?

But Nevada lawmakers should stand up and take notice. Current Nevada law does not prohibit convicted felons from collecting their public pensions once they are eligible. Vohwinkel is by no means a unique case. Former County Commissioners Dario Herrera, Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Erin Kenny and Lance Malone — all felled a few years back by a public corruption case involving local strip clubs — still qualify for their public pensions.

State taxpayers should not be forced to ensure the comfortable retirement of convicted felons, potential child molesters and even public officials who swindled their constituents. It’s time for the Legislature to address this injustice.