ALBANY — Longtime MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger is retiring amid ongoing probes into overtime abuse at the transit agency and will be replaced by a top lawyer from Gov. Cuomo’s office, sources told the Daily News Friday.
Kluger’s resignation will be effective Tuesday, but he will stay on at the office for a few months in order to assist with transition, a source added.
MTA chairman Pat Foye applauded Kluger’s work and wished him well in retirement.
“Barry has had an extraordinary 44 year career in public service keeping New Yorkers safe and ensuring their tax dollars are spent wisely,” Foye said in a statement. “I wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement and thank him on behalf of the MTA, our customers, and all New Yorkers.”
Sources said Carolyn Pokorny, currently serving as Special Counsel for Public Integrity under the governor, will be Cuomo’s pick to fill the role.
“The nomination will be made in the coming days,” Cuomo communications director Dani Lever told The News, without confirming Pokorny as the pick.
Kluger’s departure comes as overtime abuse at the MTA and the LIRR are now the subject of a federal probe. The IG’s office launched its own investigation into the agency’s overtime practices earlier this month at Foye’s urging, following a report by the Empire Center for Public Policy that revealed skyrocketing pay rates among some MTA employees.
Other than annual reports, the IG’s office hasn’t released the results of any audits or investigations in at least three years, as noted by Gothamist, which first reported the shake-up.
Kluger has served as IG for the past 12 years after previously working as a prosecutor in the Bronx District Attorney’s office for 32 years.
During his time in his current position, Kluger lead Investigations that uncovered fraud and other abuses within the agency, including a 2014 probe that revealed MetroNorth foremen forged time sheets and used work hours for unrelated activities. A separate investigation into cheating on safety tests led to the suspension of several MetroNorth conductors and engineers.
Kluger also oversaw an investigation into Talib Lokhandwala, a former MTA construction project administrator who took over $150,000 in bribes from two contractors doing jobs on subway lines. Lokhandwala was sentenced to four years in federal prison last year.
Cuomo has spent years distancing himself from the beleaguered agency, claiming he doesn’t have unilateral control despite appointing six of the MTA board’s 14 voting members, including the chairperson and the agency’s budget director and inspector general.
© 2019 NY Daily News
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