Assembly Judiciary Committee member Elizabeth Maher Muoio released the following statement Friday after the committee concluded a joint hearing with the Senate into NJ Transit’s personnel matters.
“From discrimination, to negligence to possible outright malfeasance, the allegations we heard today are disturbing, to say the least. A system that was once considered a jewel amongst state transit operations has been described today as a ‘toxic environment,’ wasting millions of taxpayer dollars and endangering public safety.
“If the former compliance officer for NJ Transit doesn’t feel comfortable putting his family on our trains, why should the general public?
“Also disturbing is what appears to be a lack of concern and knowledge on the part of Executive Director Santoro throughout our questioning. The countless ‘I don’t know’ responses we received, together with the delays in providing subpoenaed documents, are either an attempt at obfuscation or indicative of a lack of knowledge on NJ Transit’s general operations.
“Cumulatively, everything we heard today is extremely troubling and warrants more extensive investigations at the very least,” said Muoio (D-Mercer/Hunterdon).