Free rides for DOE transport staffers
While parents have deluged a city hot line with nearly 102,000 complaints about late or no-show school buses, 25 employees in the Department of Education’s Office of Pupil Transportation get taxpayer-funded city cars to commute.
Some — including managers with cushy six-figure gigs — do little or no field work, according to coworkers and records.
“They’re all seen in the office all day,” one insider fumed. “They travel to and from work on the taxpayer’s dime.” They also get city credit cards for gas.
Those who have enjoyed the perk include:
OPT safety director Paul Weydig, a manager who oversees the vetting of bus drivers. Last week, investigator Eric Reynolds, a retired NYPD detective, accused Weydig and others of bypassing him to sign off on drivers without him doing a criminal-background check.
Weydig, who lives in Port Washington, LI — 24 miles from OPT’s of- fice in Long Island City, Queens — took his city-issued Ford sedan home and back, doing little or no field work on a daily basis, records show.
His wife, Lisa D’Amato, a contract-compliance officer whose unit rubber-stamped the questionable bus-driver applications, rode with him.
Since The Post raised questions about the arrangement last week, Weydig “is no longer in possession of a city car,” a co-worker said.
Weydig did not return calls seek- ing comment. DOE officials would not comment.
Everett Parker, a D’Amato underling and Weydig pal, also stopped driving a city car last week after inquiries by The Post. His trip reports list “H to Wto H” (home to work to home) nearly every day.
Elena Ruocco, a manager of field inspection, lives on Staten Island. She drops off her child at school before heading to the office, sources said. “While other kids waited for hours, Ruocco’s kid got to school on time in the comfort of a city-owned vehicle driven by his mother while she is getting paid by the taxpayer,” a colleague said.
City rules forbid use of city cars for personal reasons.
Rabbi Morris Ausfresser, a liaison to yeshivas, who lives in Brooklyn. Another OPT employee serves as his personal assistant and chauffeur. “I can’t answer any questions,” he said Friday.
Dominick Ragusa, a recently retired investigator. He made round trips from his Queens home almost daily with virtually no field work, records show.
Under city rules, employees may take cars home if they “perform work frequently in the field,” respond to emergencies during nonbusiness hours, or if there is not secure parking to leave the car overnight. OPT has a spacious, fenced lot.
Parker, Ruocco and Ragusa could not be reached for comment.
DOE spokeswoman Miranda Barbot would not answer questions about the cars, saying “This matter is being investigated.”