Apollo founder’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein prompt a pension fund to halt new investments.

Apollo founder’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein prompt a pension fund to halt new investments.

By Mary Williams Walsh and Matthew GoldsteinA pension fund for Pennsylvania teachers said it had frozen new investments with Apollo Global Management amid concerns about ties between its founder, Leon Black, and Jeffrey Epstein.The $63 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System said it spoke with Apollo officials last week after a New York Times report detailed the financial ties between the two men. Mr. Black made at least $50 million in payments and donations to entities affiliated with Mr. Epstein in the years after Mr. Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a teenage girl.Mr. Black has said the fees he paid were for services such as estate planning and philanthropic advice. In a letter to investors after the report was published, Mr. Black said he had “never tried