More MTA Time Clocks Sabotaged Amid Overtime Abuse Scandal, Inspector General Says
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There has been another incident of sabotage targeting the MTA's efforts to properly track their worker's overtime hours.
According to MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny -- who was appointed this year to look into allegations of rampant overtime abuse by transit employees -- two more biometric clocks have been vandalized in separate incidents this week.
The latest two acts to interfere with time and attendance monitoring reportedly came on Wednesday and Thursday. One machine had its screen shattered at the Livingston Street station in Brooklyn. Another clock at a Manhattan station on 11th Avenue had an adhesive substance put on the fingerprint reader -- making it unusable.
The MTA officials said in a tweet Thursday night that these are the fifth and sixth acts of vandalism against the MTA's time and attendance system.
Two such acts of sabotage took place in June and another two happened in July.
The Inspector General released an audit focused on 75 MTA workers who earned a combined $7.2 million in overtime last year.
Auditors determined it was impossible for some MTA departments to determine if overtime claims were legitimate, and that several managers relied on an honor system.
The IG's office says it's possible for workers to make false overtime claims without being caught.
MORE: After Overtime Scandal Rocks LIRR, Officials Say Clock Tracking Workers' Hours Was Sabotaged
The MTA spent more than $1.3 billion on overtime last year, but has now agreed to implement a modern timekeeping system.
In May, the MTA said overtime costs were up $122 million. That's $82 million more than the agency expects to rake in from its recent fare hike.
That figure included the nearly $462,000 pay check raked in by the Long Island Rail Road's chief measurement officer, thanks to a stunning $344,000 in overtime. That's a mind-boggling 3,800 hours in extra shifts.
Pokorny says an investigation is being launched into the latest acts of vandalism against the new time clocks.
"The vandalized equipment is being repaired following reports of the incidents from NYCT and LIRR. An investigation is underway, and those responsible will be held accountable," a spokesman for the MTA said in a statement.
