MBTA video allegedly shows a retired employee who came regularly to turn in stolen coins and tokens for CharlieCards. (Jodi Hilton for the Boston Globe)
One of the reasons that the T decided to install the Charlie system was because under the old token method the system was being robbed blind over the past 25 years.
Still this story amazes me that a retired T employee would risk his pension ( and possibly his freedom ) .
MBTA retiree accused of skimming $40,700
I actually first saw the story last night on the 11 PM news in San Francisco (KPIX)
5 comments:
Well, he's a dumbass. He should have ebayed a bunch of them, or sent his buddies in with them, or something. Regardless, that's an assload of tokens, and cutting off his pension could be a pretty nice little "drop in the bucket" for the T budget.
This is also a good PR story for the T in the face of the CharlieHaters.
Over $40K in tokens, and when they become worthless for fencing all that this guy can think of doing is to go to the same station, every day at the same time, and feed them into the Chuckie machine? And that's the only reason why they finally caught him? Idiots all around. Makes one wonder how much the smarter crooks got away with.
Its not that good PR for the T. They only caught him AFTER he stole $40,700. It also reminds us that inspite of all of the rider hostile policies and proclamations from the MBTA about the Charlie Card changeover, it was really their own employees who were causing the problem.
They found $40K when they arrested him. There was likely much more that he had already fenced/sold over the years. This was not some activity that he took up during his retirement. Just imagine what he might have accumulated over 10 years of more. And he probably is not the only T employee doing this.
Post a Comment