The FBI is investigating the $852 million in alternative investments...

The FBI is investigating the $852 million in alternative investments made in the fourth quarter by Paul J. Silvester, former Connecticut state treasurer, said a spokesman for current State Treasurer Denise Lynn Nappier. The $18.5 billion pension fund has $3.5 billion in unfunded private equity investments. Mr. Silvester, now a managing director at new consulting firm Park Strategies, said he has not yet been contacted by the FBI or any other agency. He believes any investigation is politically motivated and points out he committed $1.5 billion in alternative investment partnerships in 1997, slightly higher than the $1.4 billion committed in 1998. But Steven W. Hart, chairman of the state’s Investment Advisory Council, argued Mr. Silvester made commitments in excess of $800 million in the last six weeks of the year. "No one could look at that as normal activity,’’ he said. At Mr. Hart’s request, Ms. Nappier has reviewed the fourth-quarter activity and is negotiating with the 12 new managers hired to roll back the state’s commitments by nearly 50%.