Former Booker Driver 'Double-Dipping' on Public Payroll, Report Says

Mayor Cory Booker’s former driver is simultaneously drawing a Newark police disability pension and a salary in his current job with the city housing authority, NJ.com reported Sunday.

Hector Rodriguez, 39, left the police force April 1 after suffering a herniated disc during  a training exercise. Less than a month later, he became director of security for the Newark Housing Authority. Rodriguez now earns $143,000 a year in salary and pension and will also be eligible for a second pension for his current job.

"This is a perfect example of what’s wrong with our pension system," John Sierchio, a member and former chairman of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System board of trustees, told NJ.com.

Although the practice has drawn heavy criticism, so-called “double-dipping” is not illegal. Other officials who are on the public payroll for one job while collecting a pension for another are Essex County Joseph DiVincenzo and former Newark Fire Director David Giordano.