About a dozen Long Island Rail Road workers pull in more than $200,000 a year in overtime alone — a staggering amount that defies the salary of Gov. Kathy Hochul all.
The latest payroll records for the transport group reveal that many of its unionized workers – whose strikes are causing huge damage to hard-working people in the metro area – are personally receiving gold at the taxpayer’s expense.
More than 325 Long Island Rail Road employees earn more than $100,000 a year in overtime in addition to their base wages, 11 of whom earn at least twice that amount in OT.
Overtime costs account for 22% of the LIRR’s earnings, notes Ken Girardin, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
“Gov. Kathy Hochul needs to use the bully pulpit and explain why the LIRR shouldn’t back down,” Girardin told The Post Sunday, referring to the MTA’s contentious contract negotiations with five LIRR unions that are laying off thousands of workers.
“He could start by talking about how, because of poor union contracts, the LIRR had 11 workers last year collect more than $200,000 each in overtime,” Girardin said.
“LIRR employees are now the highest compensated transit workers in the United States,” he said.
Among the top OT masters of passenger trains are:
- “Gang” or vigilante boss Leonardo Espinosa, earned $244,954 in OT last year on top of his $129,483 salary, bringing his total to $396,749.
By comparison, Hochul makes $250,000 a year as governor of New York state, a position that makes him LIRR manager.
Espinosa, meanwhile, was singled out last year as one of 30 LIRR employees who allegedly used fake IDs to avoid work while still getting paid, according to an investigation by MTA Inspector General Daniel Cort.
- Gang boss Jeffrey Davies, who brought in $233,808 in OT on top of his base salary of $130,291, for a total of $384,859.
- Gang boss Steve Delacrausaz, who earned $233,195 in overtime, for a total salary of $388,151 when he combined his $133,924 salary.
- Chief Brian Turner, who earned $229,426 in OT on top of a base salary of $131,176, earned a total of $378,926.
- Gang boss Larry Young, collecting $227,999 in OT was added to the base $130,428 for a total of $378,869.
- Government employee Salvatore Lazzarino, who has $222,185 in OT and a base salary of $100,306 for a total of $326,480.
- Gang boss Jose Rodriguez, who took $207,847 from OT on top of his $130,415.56 salary, giving him a total of $349,198.01,
- Yardmaster Peter Zoufaly, who earned $206,954.32 in OT and his base salary of $128,529.24 totaled $336,010.
- Gang boss Dwayne Freemantle, who took home $204,606 in OT on top of a base salary of $130,033 for a total of $349,278.
- Leading the way is Dallas Bazemore, who earned $202,890 in OT and his regular salary of $131,163 for a total of $337,280.11.
- Follow chief Lee Levine, who collected $200,619.12 in OT on top of his $127,567.46 salary for a total of $329,335.
In 2021, The Post wrote a series of stories about OT fraud at the LIRR, which led to a federal indictment and “OT kingpin” Thomas Caputo being sentenced to eight months in prison after facing a felony fraud that netted him thousands of dollars.
The Empire Center for Public Policy has, for years, highlighted major OT at MTA facilities, including NYC Transit Subways and Buses, Metro-North and Bridges and Tunnels.
“The LIRR’s fraud problem has taken many forms over the years,” Girardin said.
“The system is so distorted that it is difficult to tell what is legal waste and what is illegal waste.”
It is reported that this union wants a 9.5% increase in the last three years and 5% this year.
But management is said to be agreeing to a 3% increase this year on top of a one-off payment that will increase the total to 4.5%.
MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan in a statement sent to The Post on Sunday, “We are upset about this. [OT] numbers.
“That’s why we are fighting hard to put changes to the labor laws on the table, but so far the unions have refused to consider the changes.
Gov. Hochul’s office declined to comment on the OT issue Sunday — the second day in a row of shutdowns of critical LIRR passenger service.
Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, warned that “the important thing here is not to make a deal just to please the unions and keep the trains running if they are not sustainable.
Any deal must be “sustainable in the long run,” the lawyer said.
Strober said there are three pressures that could impact the region’s economy if the LIRR’s labor deal gets a big payout: fare increases, payroll tax increases or higher congestion rates.
“It’s going to make the district more affordable and drive more people out of New York,” he said.
An MTA source noted that the LIRR is the agency’s most heavily funded project
It gets a larger portion of its operating budget from grants and taxes than the city’s road, bus or Metro-North, the source said.
That’s at least partly because current operating rules — nowhere but the LIRR — require the MTA to spend the money overtime, the source said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has called for an end to the $9 toll charge for drivers entering the Manhattan core during the strike.
Hochul replied that “actually there is no legal way to do that.”
