Working for the Pennsylvania Turnpike is a pretty
sweet deal, according to an audit
released last week. Toll payers bought private vehicles worth more
than $28,000 for each of the turnpike’s five commissioners—and
picked up the tab for maintenance and fuel. The turnpike’s 2,104
employees don’t have to pay at toll booths—nor do 5,000
politicians, bureaucrats, consultants, and contractors.

From The
Newspaper:

The free travel amounted to $5.5 million worth of trips,
although the auditor believes this is an underestimate because no
records are kept of employee use of this perk. The governor’s
office received 21 free transponders, the lieutenant governor
received one, and state department of transportation officials
received eight.

… In addition to $26,000 in salaries, the commissioners enjoyed
$539,201 in benefits over the audit period [January 2007 to August
2011]. No limits were placed on expense accounts for commissioners
traveling to conferences around the world. Commissioners stayed in
luxury hotel suites and received free vehicles and electronic
devices for personal use, all paid for with toll revenue.

Reason contributor Eric Boehm writes in the

PA Independent: 

In February 2010, one or more commissioners of the Pennsylvania
Turnpike walked into a Harrisburg restaurant.

They, perhaps with guests, rang up a bill of nearly $500.

But it’s impossible to determine the punch line of that joke
because auditors who recently examined the turnpike’s expense
accounts say there is no way to know much else about what happened
at the restaurant.

Like most expenses incurred by the top officials of
the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, there were no receipts
and no information about the number of individuals involved, the
content of their orders or the legitimate business purpose for the
gathering.

In a written response
to the audit, Turnpike Commission CEO Craig Shuey said, “In general
terms, we believe the findings in the audit suggest that the
Commission is fulfilling its mission.”