MTA Submits To Cuomo After More E-Z Abuse Surfaces

What an interesting week it has been between Andrew Cuomo and the MTA. First the news came out that board members are given E-Z Passes as "thank yous" for their service. Next Attorney General Cuomo took a look at the situation and as stated in the terms of service, board members are not allowed to be compensated and said it was illegal and that the perks must stop. Incredulously the MTA threatened to take Cuomo to court to keep their compensatory deal, but then this came out.

From The NY Daily News:

As the MTA reversed course Thursday and proposed canceling free travel passes for MTA honchos, the Daily News learned that nearly a dozen spouses of past or present board members also get the freebies.

The group of lucky ladies - and one fortunate fella - include Elizabeth Hemmerdinger, wife of Dale Hemmerdinger, the multimillionaire chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Denise Saul, wife of multimillionaire board Vice Chairman Andrew Saul, who both have Metro-North Railroad passes.

Records show that free commuter rail passes have been granted to a dozen who never served on the panel.

The breakdown: Three wives of current board members, seven wives of former board members, one husband of a past panelist and the live-in girlfriend of yet another. Some have Metro-North passes, some have Long Island Rail Road passes - and some have both.

Some of the spouses are married to former board members who left the authority more than a decade ago.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Shame on these rich bastards for violating their contracts with the MTA. Even though the money is small compared to the overall budget, this is unacceptable and if you are going to serve the people, serve them and not yourself.