N.Y.’s Serio Joins D’Amato Firm; Marsh Hearing Postponed as Spitzer Settlement Reported Near

Outgoing New York Superintendent of Insurance Gregory Serio is joining The Park Strategies, a public affairs and lobbying firm headed by former Republican U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato. Serio’s last day with the New York State Insurance Department will be Jan. 18.

The insurance department had called Marsh executives to a hearing on Jan. 18 over allegations of account steering and bid rigging but that hearing will be postponed, according to the department.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that settlement talks between Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Marsh are in their final stages and could be completed as early as next week.

Gov. George Pataki has nominated Assemblyman Howard Mills to succeed Serio. His nomination must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate.

Mills has actually been with the department as a deputy superintendent since early January as part of the transition plan.

Mills was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1998, representing portions of Orange and Rockland Counties. He has served as deputy minority leader of the Assembly and on several committees during his three terms, including the insurance committee.

Prior to his appointment as superintendent in 2001, Serio served for six years as first deputy superintendent and as general counsel of the insurance department for three years. Previously, Serio served from 1989 to 1994 as chief counsel to the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance, and as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman and Deputy Majority Leader.

The state’s superintendent of insurance is responsible for the monitoring and regulation of more than 1,000 insurance companies with cumulative assets exceeding $2 trillion. The position also includes oversight responsibility for more than 100,000 brokers, agents and financial intermediaries and the management of approximately 1,500 department employees.

Topics New York