E-ZPass Abusing Parks Official Gets Slapped With Huge Fine

The Parks Department is making an example out of a high-ranking employee who used his official E-ZPass on personal trips. Even though the accumulated tolls totaled only $52, the Department is fining the official $11,000—or 211 times what he admitted stealing. What's really embarrassing is that Martin Brenner, the admitted E-ZPass abuser, was director of the agency's Management Information Systems at the time. So as chief technology officer, he should have known E-ZPass transactions are easily traceable, a fact that's also, you know, common knowledge. As part of his punishment, Brenner was demoted to deputy, had his pay cut from $101,000 to $95,000, and lost the right to drive any city vehicle. This wasn't the first time for Brenner either; one Parks source tells the Post, "He was warned not to do this again. Then he did it again. He could have been fired." The stern punishment comes on the heels of an MTA crackdown on bureaucratic abuse E-ZPasses.