Oct 28, 2008 8:28 am US/Eastern
LIRR Under Investigation For Disability Scam Claim
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
AP
The Long Island Railroad is being investigated for a possible disability scam.
Long Island's Congressional delegation was rocked by a whistle-blowing orthopedic surgeon, whose identity is being concealed, who described how the system for six years rubber stamped, with no oversight, hundreds of disability claims.
The surgeon said he diagnosed sudden back, spine, hip or knee pain claimed by many railroad workers in their 50s about to retire early.
As he strode into the public hearing investigating possible pension abuses by retired Long Island Railroad employees, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo demanded to know who was asleep at the switch.
"It's another day and another scam on the taxpayer we're going to be investigating," Cuomo said.
Another soon to be retiree described in his application, just how he said he became disabled: "I had to walk throughout the building with uneven floors. Some are carpeted, others are vinyl tile, others are cement, the environment is very dusty."
The disability rate among career LIRR employees is now three times the national average, with 90 percent of retired workers having applied for disability and 98 percent having received disability.
The cost to taxpayers was $250 million since 2000.
The Railroad Retirement Board was on the hot seat and the LIRR president as well, having been on the job for only a year. Helena Williams took the offensive, telling the committee ethics training starts Tuesday. On Monday, she suspended a worker.
"As part of my compliance unit's efforts, we uncovered the document you saw today," Williams said.
That document clearly showed a railroad employee advising coworkers how to cheat the retirement and pension system. "When the government fails the people get hurt financially," Cuomo said. The Attorney General said from 2001 to 2007, 753 LIRR workers reported cases of disabling arthritis or rheumatism, as compared to just 32 Metro North employees.
Cuomo said criminal charges may be pending. He must determine if the disability pensions for thousands of LIRR retirees will be taken away.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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