LIRR worker wins 'Let's Make a Deal'

A Long Island Rail Road employee, Thomas Caputo, billed for $344,000 in fraudulent overtime, besides his $117,000 base salary, blocked his GPS so his whereabouts could not be detected, and he gets caught ["8 months for fraudulent OT ‘feeding frenzy,’ " News, Feb. 5]. He must return only $19,000 (a $325,000 "profit") and gets only eight months in jail because he got "credit for his clean criminal record and dozens of letters of support from family and co-workers."

It sounds like a great deal. What message is being sent? "Steal money from us, and then we will play ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ and you get to keep almost 95% of it, with a short stay in jail so you will have plenty of time to spend it later." And the LIRR wonders why the public is so upset when rates keep going up.

And in another effort to avoid taking responsibility, he is seen by his attorney as a " ‘good and productive man’ who has fallen victim to greed . . . ‘The LIRR created this culture and put the template out there. And Thomas is going to prison because he took the bait.’ " That’s $325,000 worth of bait.

— Bob Ranieri, St. James

So Thomas Caputo claimed to have worked approximately 3,864 hours of overtime, earning him $344,000 in 2018. He retires in April 2019, the year after he submitted all those overtime hours, and the calculation of his pension soars and he is allowed to receive his padded pension.

He is found guilty, and sentencing guidelines call for a term of 10 to 16 months in jail, but he will receive only eight months of jail time and must repay $19,000, the amount that prosecutors could prove. He committed fraud but got almost no financial penalty. The courts are not screaming that if you commit a crime, you will regret it.

Now Caputo’s cost of living for eight months will be free: free room and board, health insurance, food, recreation, and he can take it easy for eight months in a low-security federal prison, likely costing taxpayers a lot more than $19,000 for him to serve time in jail.

And while he is there, and after he serves his time, he will receive a huge, padded pension. Good deal.

— Bob Krauss, Plainview

Thomas Caputo’s pensionwill not be affected by his conviction for overtime fraud. What is not reported is that his pension, earned through a public entity, will not be taxed by New York State. Pensions paid to public employees are free of New York State income taxes.

However, pensions paid to retirees from private entities are taxed as regular income after the first $20,000. In practical terms, this means that I have to pay as much as $2,000 in state income taxes on my pension, which is a good deal smaller than Caputo’s is likely to be. This is blatantly unfair.

If Caputo’s pension is tax-free, mine should be too. Especially in this year of unprecedented wealth for New York State, our legislature should act to declare that a pension is a pension and all pensions will be treated the same.

— Stuart Chamberlain, West Sayville

I just want to make sure I am getting this straight: eight months in a low-security federal prison where he can garden and probably watch Netflix, in exchange for $325,000 in fraudulent overtime that he keeps, which also pads his pension, which he also gets to keep?

Where do I sign up?  

— James Smith, East Northport

Let me see if I have this right. Thomas Caputo had $344,000 in no-work overtime, which was also added to his lifetime pension calculation. After retiring from the LIRR, he received a sentence of eight months in jail plus supervised release including home confinement and to repay only $19,000.

Who said crime doesn’t pay?

— Gary Anderson, Smithtown

This overly lenient sentencing is disappointingly surprising given that the judge admitted that "the amount of overtime you claimed was eye-popping, bordering on impossibility" and that Thomas Caputo told a colleague that he was "going to [expletive] the LIRR and make as much money as I can before I retire."

And after serving merely eight months, this 57-year-old thief from Holbrook likely will enjoy his sinfully padded pension for more decades than he worked to "earn" it.

This is neither justice nor a deterrent for future LIRR employees.

— Richard Siegelman, Plainview

How many of us would gladly do eight months in a low-security federal prison for $325,000, then get a full pension when we get out?

This country is going to hell in a handbasket.

— Leroy Bombardiere, Huntington Station