As one of three Board members, Menton will be responsible for ruling on hundreds of retirement appeals that are filed with CRAB each year. The cases range from disputes over retirement calculations to disabilities.

The other two members of CRAB are Joseph Martin, who is a deputy director with the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, and Assistant Attorney General Anthony Penski, who serves as chairman.

The CRAB appointment is yet another role that Menton has taken on in his long career in public service. The former district court judge was an FBI agent, state representative and counsel to the House of Representatives, before being appointed to the bench by former Governor Michael Dukakis.

Menton was chosen in 1996 to be the chairman of the newly formed PERAC, which is the state agency responsible for regulating the state's pension law. To become chairman, Menton was chosen by the other six PERAC Commissioners, who are, themselves, appointed by the governor and auditor.

Although Menton resigned after about a year as chairman, he did play a key role in the early formation of the agency. This included looking outside of Massachusetts to bring in former Executive Director Bob Stalnaker from Alaska. Stalnaker resigned in 1999, due to personal reasons. Joe Connarton is the current executive director.