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Lirr Worker Sentenced For Overtime Scheme
One of five Long Island Rail Road employees charged with a conspiracy to defraud the MTA through an overtime scheme has been sentenced to three months in prison.
Joseph Balestra, age 52, of Blue Point, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, Jan. 4, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Balestra, who must also repay $109,641 in restitution, said during sentencing, he took full responsibility for his role in the scheme.
Following his three months in prison, he will have to serve three years of supervised release, three months of which will be s…
Four From Long Island Among Five Current/Former MTA Employees Charged With Overtime Fraud
Five former and current MTA employees - four of whom are from Long Island - are facing charges for an alleged elaborate overtime fraud scheme that reportedly net them more than $1 million.
Federal prosecutors charged “MTA Overtime King” Thomas Caputo, a Holbrook resident, and four others on Thursday, Dec. 3 for an “extraordinary” scheme that saw all five being paid while at home, on vacation, or doing other things besides being on the job.
Along with Caputo, Levittown resident Joseph Ruzzo, Rocky Point resident John Nugent, Blue Point resident Joseph Balestra, and Manalapan, N.J. resident M…
Feds Investigating Lirr Overtime Records, Including $461K For One Worker, Report Says
Federal prosecutors have launched a probe into Long Island Railroad overtime pay following recent reports that the MTA paid out more than $400 million in overtime last year, including one LIRR employee who pocketed more than $460,000.
Prosecutors have subpoenaed pay records for a recently retired LIRR official, Thomas Caputo, a former chief measurement operator, who allegedly took in $461,646 in overtime pay, according to the Empire Center, prompting further investigation.
Caputo’s overtime pay was more than what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio earned last year, accordin…
