The governor and Cabinet Tuesday hired a new state pension fund manager: Ash Williams, a Wall Street fund manager who held the Florida post more than two decades ago.

Wiliams, 53, of Wilton, Conn., worked in state government in the 1970s and 1980s and said he's eager to return home to Tallahassee. He will manage more than $160-billion in investments, including the pensions of thousands of retired state workers. He succeeds Coleman Stipanovich, who resigned late last year in the wake of a raid on a local governmemt investment pool that contained restructured and downgraded securities, prompting a massive series of withdrawals by cities, counties and others.

As executive director of the state Board of Administration, Williams will earn $325,000 a year, making him among the best-paid members of the state work force. Former Comptroller Bob Milligan, the acting SBA director, negotiated Williams' pay package.

--Steve Bousquet, Tallahassee bureau chief