The head of the Obama administration’s auto task force, Steven Rattner, is stepping down from the post after the rapid reorganizations of Chrysler and General Motors.þþMr. Rattner will be succeeded as head of the auto task force by Ron Bloom, another key official who formerly advised the United Steelworkers union.þþBut an investigation by Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission into Mr. Rattner’s former firm, the Quadrangle Group, has intensified in recent weeks, according to a person briefed on the matter. There is no evidence that the inquiry is connected to Mr. Rattner’s departure from the task force.þþQuadrangle came under scrutiny earlier this year when it was implicated in a pay-for-play scandal involving a large New York State pension fund. Six individuals, including Hank Morris, an associate of New York’s former comptroller, have been charged criminally. Mr. Morris denies the charges.þþMr. Rattner was personally involved in discussions with Mr. Morris’s firm, Searle, which helped Quadrangle gain business in New York State. Neither he nor Quadrangle has been charged, and Quadrangle has been cooperating with þinvestigators.
Source: NY Times
