NEW YORK (WPIX) — As PIX 11's Greg Mocker reveals new details about how much the MTA is paying its new managing director, and how she's spending some of her workdays, a New York state senator is vowing to investigate.
Sen. Craig Johnson (D- Port Washington) calls the Diana Jones Ritter's employment contract "a sweetheart deal."
"This is almost, I hate to say it, typical. You're giving someone a sweetheart deal while you're laying off important employees,"Washington said. "You're cutting service, adding fares. I think we are really going to start investigating the MTA and how it does its business.
Johnson's reaction came as Mocker discovered new information about Ritter.
Two months after she resigned a state government job to become managing director of the MTA and its top efficiency executive, Mocker discovered she's still doing work for the state on MTA time.
The revelation comes as Mocker obtained her MTA employment contract, which contained new information about her compensation. In addition to a salary of $217,000, the MTA is giving Ritter $16,500 in annual deferred compensation and a temporary housing allowance of $1,500 per month.
For that money, according to the contract, Ritter must devote her "full time and attention to rendering services in the management of the MTA."
But on three occasions since Ritter joined the MTA, she's spent part of her workday participating in board meetings for the New York State Deferred Compensation Board, which regulates government versions of 401K plans. Ritter is Governor Paterson's appointee on the three-person board. The meetings have lasted up to six hours.
Despite the fact that no MTA business is discussed at the meetings, and the MTA is facing massive budget and efficiency problems, the MTA says Ritter's participation is okay.
"The Managing Director's Service on the New York Deferred Compensation Board, which includes oversight of MTA deferred compensation, is directly relevant to her work at the MTA. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, on days when she is required to attend board meetings, she makes sure to work additional hours at the MTA," a spokesperson said via email.
While the MTA was quick to respond to the board issue, the authority refuses to answer questions about Ritter's compensation.
Specifically, Mocker has asked about her $1,500-per-month housing allowance. According to Ritter's contract, here's why she's receiving the money:
"In recognition of the transition costs associated with relocating and the difficulty posed by selling a home in this economic climate, you will receive a temporary housing allowance of $1,500 per month. This temporary allowance will be terminated upon the sale or other financial disposition of your current primary residence."
Ritter, however, has not put her home (near Albany) on the market. She's made no attempt to sell it.
Mocker has asked the MTA how the amount was decided and if Ritter will continue to receive the payment if she makes no attempt to sell her home.
The hiring of Jones Ritter and her contract has caught the attention of state lawmakers. Johnson serves on the New York State Senate Task Force on Government Inefficiency. In the summer, the panel criticized her management of the State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (the name has since been changed). The task force chair, Sen. Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx), has also commented on the way she ran the office, including out of control overtime and questionable purchasing practices.
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