Free Press – Detroit’s two public pensions have reported losses of more than $480 million in risky investments, from hedge funds and vacant land in Texas and Hawaii, to a Detroit office tower and a Pittsburgh casino.
The losses, all since February 2008, include more than $270 million in write-downs this fall alone.
Many of the investments involved secretive middlemen, who pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars, or were vetted by controversial investment adviser Adrian Anderson and his firm, North Point Advisors, the subjects of earlier Free Press investigations.
