Lawyer Sues MTA Over Cashless Tolling Fees
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A lawyer claims the MTA has been hitting drivers with thousands of dollars in fees since the switch to cashless tolling on its bridges and tunnels in 2016.
Lawyer Joseph Santoli alleges many honest drivers, even when they use E-ZPass, are getting bogus $100 fines that are racking up.
He is suing the MTA on behalf of a Westchester commuter.
"He's being pursued for $6,000," he told WCBS 880's Ethan Harp. "I've spoken to people that had $30,000. Some people had $25,000."
Santoli accuses the MTA of wrongly slapping fines on innocent drivers by mail and rushing those cases to collection.
"I've heard of cases where people were threatened with the revocation of their registration if they didn't pay and they were forced to cash in their IRA, their retirement funds," Santoli said.
He argues the MTA and its contractors are reaping tens of millions they don't deserve.
"The way it's been rolled out has been just totally ineffective and incompetent," Santoli said. "It's so greedy. They are getting hundreds and in some cases many thousands of dollars in violations."
The MTA said it can't comment on pending litigation.
Last week, Assemblyman Tom Abinanti and state Sen. David Carlucci proposed the Toll Payer Protection Act which they hope would eliminate some of the confusion for toll payers and force agencies to be more transparent when it comes to fees and fines.
