Keep the Change: Audit Finds New Jersey Turnpike Authority Worker Receiving $321,985 Salary and Benefits

Next time you pass through the New Jersey Turnpike, you might want to ask the worker for a loan. Auditors recently found millions in unwarranted bonuses to workers on the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. A total of $43 million was found wasted.

One worker stands out in the report. The worker had a $73,469 base salary but earned $321,985 with payouts and bonuses. At that salary, he or she could have been a manager in Bell, California.

The audit also found that the improper bonuses were not even tied to actual performance. It is easy to see how you can inflate your salary from the details of the report. For example, employees were first paid overtime for working holidays and removing snow. They were then given bonuses for working holidays and removing snow. There was even nearly $90,000 for scholarships for workers’ kids. Then there was the money paid for a “toll operators event” that lacked only one thing: toll operators. No one actually went to the event but it was still paid for by the Turnpike.

The Turnpike has announced the need to increase tolls in 2012.

Source; Land Line

36 thoughts on “Keep the Change: Audit Finds New Jersey Turnpike Authority Worker Receiving $321,985 Salary and Benefits”

  1. Have you ever noticed that the states with the highest number of people living in poverty are states with very few union members?

    No can’t say that I have

  2. Swarthmore mom

    Just like you don’t want everyone to blame Obama you just can’t blame the Republican Governor. You have to look who’s in control

    Democrats

  3. Have you ever noticed that the states with the highest number of people living in poverty are states with very few union members?

  4. There has been a republican governor in California for 8 years bdaman. That might get fixed this time. Jerry Brown is for change.

  5. There are nearly 500 state highway patrol officers making $150,000-a-year or more. 500. Which means just those fine folks alone are costing California’s taxpayers about $100 million annually.

    And, best I can tell, there are about 10,000 people employed by the state highway patrol system. Ten-freaking-thousand. And 5,200 of those public employees make over $100,000 annually.

    Just a guess, but from perusing the database, it would appear that the average salary is about $110,000.

    Which means the CHiPs system costs California’s taxpayers $1.1 billion in compensation alone, to say nothing of facilities, retirement payments, vehicles, etc.

    But go ahead, Californians, just vote for Jerry Brown and more Democrat union cronies. Things couldn’t get worse.

    Could they?

  6. When I was a kid I use to want to be an Airborne Ranger and live the life of danger. Turns out I should have wanted to take money from other people only to protect the innocent.

  7. Robert D Carter

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL C

    $344,280.09

    $189,236.55

    $172,689.20
    Michael R Teixeira

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $304,477.03

    $162,043.50

    $151,008.20
    Alan R Carson

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    ASSISTANT CHIEF, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $298,806.85

    $164,412.00

    $144,131.15
    Mary E Rennie

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    LIEUTENANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $297,951.25

    $132,671.00

    $124,312.00
    Patricia A Shearer

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    CAPTAIN, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $286,431.51

    $131,582.61

    $119,853.40
    James E Mclaughlin

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    CHIEF, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $285,390.67

    $177,102.00

    $159,028.00
    Charles J Chellew

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    CAPTAIN, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $284,129.53

    $147,040.00

    $136,623.00
    Mark S Bakios

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    LIEUTENANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $276,429.84

    $131,141.00

    $123,868.80
    Robert E Clements

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    ASSISTANT CHIEF, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $273,358.72

    $168,048.00

    $160,279.47
    James G Kerr

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $264,664.91

    $132,207.14

    $126,154.81
    Mark A Mcaffee

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $263,481.99

    $140,083.82

    $137,326.00
    Kim R King

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    ASSISTANT CHIEF, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $263,025.21

    $169,948.09

    $153,236.29
    Roderick R Sloan

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $259,039.26

    $122,989.16

    $122,595.59
    David C Webb

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    CAPTAIN, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $257,463.91

    $146,910.00

    $138,773.89
    Deborah A Vertar

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    CHIEF, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $251,978.74

    $175,008.00

    $158,723.20
    Jose Vizcarra

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    LIEUTENANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $249,452.11

    $99,335.64

    $123,659.83
    Vincent A Lambres

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $245,508.60

    $217,683.49

    $197,179.72
    Wayne E Liband

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    LIEUTENANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $241,364.97

    $132,191.00

    $124,169.00
    Renee K Difronzo

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    LIEUTENANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $241,236.03

    $128,073.85

    $124,127.60
    Michael V Shaw

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $241,194.34

    $174,267.26

    $149,510.50
    Sean P Barrett

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    LIEUTENANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $240,786.80

    $131,471.00

    $125,312.00
    Steven Anaya

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $240,602.73

    $146,571.84

    $126,034.83
    Ronald J Rogers

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $237,504.36

    $140,860.91

    $119,578.03
    William A Coop

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    OFFICER, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $235,159.43

    $154,734.71

    $94,676.05
    Robert A Stephens

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    SERGEANT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL

    $232,959.83

    $122,055.95

    $114,121.03

    Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/statepay/?name=&agency=CALIFORNIA+HIGHWAY+PATROL&salarylevel=#ixzz1302LiXGN

  8. I am with Rick Perry and GeoII, Privatize the road ways…Yep…use government authority and take property and Privatize….then you are not accountable to how you spend the money….just too bad I am to on the receiving end….

    But then again…we could in a few years take over the toll roads just like we did the Railroads and in the late 1800’s….That was when the Roosevelt family lost fortunes over fortunes….and the TR became President and then his cousin FDR became President….and took certain measures to assure that this type of behavior did not happen again…..Greed…Money…Transportation…ah ha…little did he know corporate greed know no bounds….

  9. We can’t forget the bowling league either,I invite all to come to my garden state,so we can keep our workers happy.

    “The audit shows toll- and taxpayers picked up the tab for such perks as free E-ZPass transponders, scholarships for workers’ kids and an employee bowling league. The audit showed some Turnpike Authority employees got overtime plus bonuses for working holidays and their birthdays. Some were paid bonuses on top of overtime for removing snow, a routine job function.”

    http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/xclude/1287555946198540.xml&coll=3

  10. Is the NJ Toll System separate economically from the State? Is it a political subdivision of NJ? Maybe Christie can stop slapping around teachers and go after the toll booth operators for restitution.

  11. Sounds to me as if these toll booth operators are good candidates for upper management, they already know all the essentials, the importance of a feeling of being entitled to remuneration!

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