MTA Board Criticizes LIRR Leadership Over Fraudulent Activity
During a meeting on Wednesday, members of the MTA board expressed their anger towards the leadership of the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) for not dismissing numerous employees involved in a fraudulent scheme to inflate their work hours.
Board member James O’Donnell particularly targeted LIRR President Rob Free after discovering, through media coverage, that many of the individuals implicated in the scheme—who had used fake ID cards to receive pay for hours not worked—were still employed. O’Donnell noted that some of the workers had accrued significant overtime pay before being arrested.
“To me, these people will continue to reap the benefits of their actions,” O’Donnell said, expressing frustration over the plot outlined in a report by MTA Inspector General Daniel Cote. “That’s unconscionable.”
The board had requested the Inspector General to clarify the situation, as they had only been hearing about the ongoing employment of these workers from local news.
“This is hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen right under our noses,” O’Donnell remarked, adding that he was done just reading about the situation in newspapers. He insisted on having the Inspector General present the findings of the entire investigation to the board.
The fraudulent activities reportedly involved employees using equipment to duplicate ID cards, with some even creating counterfeit badges within LIRR locker rooms and their vehicles. The report indicated that counterfeit cards were sold for up to $40, often stored in easily accessible places like unlocked lockers and refrigerators. These IDs allowed employees to receive wages while not actually working, and notably, some fraudsters were making substantially more through overtime compared to their colleagues—one foreman even earned more than the railroad’s president last year.
Rob Free attempted to mitigate the tension, stating that the railroad was in the midst of disciplinary procedures, which is why most employees had not been terminated yet. He noted that 13 of the 36 involved had resigned before the investigation took shape, with one individual already fired and six facing hearings.
While the Inspector General has referred the case to several district attorneys, no criminal charges have been filed thus far. Prosecutors attributed the lack of action mainly to the absence of video surveillance or biometric logs that could determine which individuals used which ID cards at specific times.
O’Donnell continued to call for consequences from the MTA, irrespective of any criminal proceedings. Meanwhile, MTA CEO Jano Lieber confirmed that the board would be provided with an internal briefing on the investigation as requested by O’Donnell. “We’re going to hold that information session,” he stated, but emphasized that the disciplinary process needed to be completed first before any further actions could be taken.
