Paterson Gets Cuomo To Investigate MTA Disability Fraud

The New York Times unearthed a massive scheme by MTA workers who were fraudulently taking disability from the Federal government despite most of them not needing it at all. It goes to show that when it comes to corruption, the MTA doesn't just take from the locals. It turns out that a system-wide operation was in plan that gave many workers equal or more than their pay while they were actually doing something for mass transit in NYC. So now Paterson, being the pro-active governor he is, wants to get to the bottom of the mess.

From The NY Times:

Gov. David A. Paterson said on Sunday that he would give Andrew M. Cuomo, the state’s attorney general, broad powers to investigate the Long Island Rail Road as part of a wide-ranging review his administration would seek of how disability and pension benefits were potentially manipulated by L.I.R.R. supervisors, workers and retirees.

The governor’s action comes after The New York Times reported that virtually every career employee of the railroad applies for and gets disability payments soon after retirement at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal disability money. The disability claims are paid by an obscure federal agency called the Railroad Retirement Board. (See related graphic comparing the L.I.R.R. to other railroads, a graphic comparing the L.I.R.R. to Metro-North Railroad, interactive graphic and video.)

When it comes to corruption in New York, Cuomo is the man to go to. Having McCain's endorsement for S.E.C. chief might make Democrats wary, but I must say he'd be excellent for the position (that is if the President could fire Cox, but that is another story altogether). For now, I think we'll keep him as the top attorney in New York.