(Lana Jones/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Former Senate President Stan Rosenberg's estranged ex-husband, who faces criminal charges including sexual assault, could one day be the beneficiary of Rosenberg's pension. But Democratic state Sen. Will Brownsberger, Vice Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, said he sees nothing wrong with that.
Rosenberg filed paperwork to designate his Bryon Hefner as his beneficiary. Brownsberger told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker that there's nothing to investigate, because Rosenberg earned that pension through many years of public service--and the filing to make a spouse a beneficiary isn't uncommon or unethical.
"Who he chooses to give it to upon his death is really just his business," Brownsberger said. "I can't see an issue, that's really a private matter of his own."
A four-month independent ethics investigation concluded that Rosenberg failed to protect the Senate from Hefner's pattern of disruptive behavior, but that's a separate matter.
"Senator Rosenberg stepped down in the wake of some serious errors of judgement," Brownsberger said. "He has earned a pension through many years of state service, and that is his pension."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker reports