St. Clare's Corporation allegedly failed to purchase insurance that could have saved the St. Clare's pension fund from collapse.

Thursday, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara said the attorney general's office provided him with this update, and thanked Attorney General Letitia James for taking "swift action" to investigate the St. Clare's retirement fund.

"The news so far is disturbing to say the least," Santabarbara said. 

Shortly after being absorbed by Ellis Hospital, St. Clare's Corporation announced last year they were down more than $50 million in funds to pay out benefits to more than 1,100 employees. Many of those employees saw their pensions diminish greatly or disappear altogether. 

"After the state invested more than $28 million into the fund, more than 1,100 retirees of the former St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady were told they will receive no pension," Santabarbara said.

In May, James's office announced it was looking into the issue. 

Thursday, Santabarbara said James's office reviewed documents which showed trustees had voted to buy insurance for the pension plan, more than a year prior to the pension's crash. Santabarbara says should they have made that purchase, it could have saved the fund.

He says James's office found no explanation from the corporation as to why they avoided the purchase. Santabarbara says the corporation allegedly did not provide all the documents requested by the attorney general's office.

In addition, Santabarbara said James's office plans to address the corporation for creating a motion keeping all pensioners out of court proceedings. Santabarbara says those retirees "deserve answers."

"Clearly there were steps that could have been taken to prevent this crisis and more than 1,100 retirees deserve answers,” Santabarbara said. “I fully support the attorney general in her efforts and urge the St Claire’s Corporation to cooperate with this investigation and do the right thing."