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**Anydayhybeall** · 01-04-2006, 05:09 PM

How these folks get to keep their jobs is beyond me. We often compared the union demands to the "realities" of the private sector. How does anyone square the following behavior with the "realities" of the private sector? Taking bribes is a crime. Most companies would fire a person for this type of stuff...

January 4, 2006
3 M.T.A. Officials Admit They Took Gifts Improperly

By SEWELL CHAN
Three officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have agreed to pay a total of $4,850 to settle charges that they accepted gifts improperly, the State Ethics Commission announced yesterday.

Since December 2004, the commission has charged 19 officials at the authority with breaking ethics rules. Last May, the authority adopted a "zero-tolerance policy" toward employees who receive gifts from companies and people who do business with the authority.

The most recent officials to be accused were Millard L. Seay, senior vice president for buses at New York City Transit, and Joseph J. Petrocelli, deputy vice president for finance and administration at M.T.A. Capital Construction, which oversees the Second Avenue subway project and other major building efforts.

Mr. Seay, who is known as Butch, agreed on Dec. 9 to pay $1,250 to settle charges that he accepted dinners and golf outings worth $633 from two contractors, Atlantic Detroit Diesel-Allison and Motor Coach Industries, on six occasions from 1999 to 2002.

Mr. Petrocelli agreed on Dec. 12 to pay $3,000 to settle charges that he accepted five meals worth $1,555 from two contractors, the Bechtel Corporation and Gannett Fleming, in 2002 and 2003, when he was overseeing East Side Access, a project to link the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal.

The third official, Richard C. Semenick, an assistant chief engineer at the Long Island Rail Road, agreed on Dec. 15 to pay $600 and admit that he accepted a meal worth $136.74 at a steak house in Garden City, N.Y., in March 2002 from the Plasser American Corporation, a contractor.

Mr. Semenick was charged in December 2004, and Mr. Seay and Mr. Petrocelli in November 2005. The authority's inspector general's office, which looked into the improper gifts, had referred their cases to the commission.

The commission also announced three other settlements involving state employees:

¶Laura Nowak, chairwoman of the Business Department at the College of Staten Island, part of the City University of New York, agreed on Dec. 20 to pay $5,600 and admit that she improperly accepted payment for appearing as an expert witness in a case before the State Court of Claims.

¶Larry Jacks, who retired as an analyst at the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance in June 2004, agreed on Dec. 20 to pay $500 to settle charges that he contacted the agency three times on behalf of a client in September and October 2004. State law prohibits former employees from appearing before their agencies within two years of leaving the jobs.

¶Clemente P. LaPietra, who retired as a program analyst at the State Higher Education Services Corporation in May 2004, agreed on Dec. 13 to pay $200 and admit that he contacted the corporation nine times in 2004 and 2005, after he retired, to discuss financial-aid issues on behalf of students at his new employer, Monroe College.

Copyright 2006The New York Times Company

01-04-2006, 05:09 PM	#1
Anydayhybeall Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 474 Senior Member	The corrupt MTA How these folks get to keep their jobs is beyond me. We often compared the union demands to the "realities" of the private sector. How does anyone square the following behavior with the "realities" of the private sector? Taking bribes is a crime. Most companies would fire a person for this type of stuff... January 4, 2006 3 M.T.A. Officials Admit They Took Gifts Improperly By SEWELL CHAN Three officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have agreed to pay a total of $4,850 to settle charges that they accepted gifts improperly, the State Ethics Commission announced yesterday. Since December 2004, the commission has charged 19 officials at the authority with breaking ethics rules. Last May, the authority adopted a "zero-tolerance policy" toward employees who receive gifts from companies and people who do business with the authority. The most recent officials to be accused were Millard L. Seay, senior vice president for buses at New York City Transit, and Joseph J. Petrocelli, deputy vice president for finance and administration at M.T.A. Capital Construction, which oversees the Second Avenue subway project and other major building efforts. Mr. Seay, who is known as Butch, agreed on Dec. 9 to pay $1,250 to settle charges that he accepted dinners and golf outings worth $633 from two contractors, Atlantic Detroit Diesel-Allison and Motor Coach Industries, on six occasions from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Petrocelli agreed on Dec. 12 to pay $3,000 to settle charges that he accepted five meals worth $1,555 from two contractors, the Bechtel Corporation and Gannett Fleming, in 2002 and 2003, when he was overseeing East Side Access, a project to link the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal. The third official, Richard C. Semenick, an assistant chief engineer at the Long Island Rail Road, agreed on Dec. 15 to pay $600 and admit that he accepted a meal worth $136.74 at a steak house in Garden City, N.Y., in March 2002 from the Plasser American Corporation, a contractor. Mr. Semenick was charged in December 2004, and Mr. Seay and Mr. Petrocelli in November 2005. The authority's inspector general's office, which looked into the improper gifts, had referred their cases to the commission. The commission also announced three other settlements involving state employees: ¶Laura Nowak, chairwoman of the Business Department at the College of Staten Island, part of the City University of New York, agreed on Dec. 20 to pay $5,600 and admit that she improperly accepted payment for appearing as an expert witness in a case before the State Court of Claims. ¶Larry Jacks, who retired as an analyst at the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance in June 2004, agreed on Dec. 20 to pay $500 to settle charges that he contacted the agency three times on behalf of a client in September and October 2004. State law prohibits former employees from appearing before their agencies within two years of leaving the jobs. ¶Clemente P. LaPietra, who retired as a program analyst at the State Higher Education Services Corporation in May 2004, agreed on Dec. 13 to pay $200 and admit that he contacted the corporation nine times in 2004 and 2005, after he retired, to discuss financial-aid issues on behalf of students at his new employer, Monroe College. Copyright 2006The New York Times Company
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