A former MBTA track inspector, circled in red, is allegedly shown sitting in an MBTA repair garage on Sept. 19, 2024 at the same time he claimed to be out inspecting Red Line tracks. Photo courtesy of the Boston U.S. attorney's office
Federal prosecutors say four ex-MBTA workers and one current one falsified traffic inspection reports while also using MBTA property to work on private vehicles.
Police arrested Brian Pfaffinger, Ronald Gamble, Jensen Vatel, Nathalie Mendes sand Andy Vicente Thursday.
MBTA leaders referred the case to federal prosecutors last year after firing or putting on leave a dozen employees at the Cabot Yard bus and Red Line maintenance facility for allegedly working on private vehicles during work hours.
The quintet was charged with falsification of records, aiding and abetting and false statements.
Gambel, Vatel, Mendes and Vicente were MBTA track inspectors, since fired. The Boston U.S. attorney’s office said that between Sept. 3 to Oct. 15, they filed reports with their supervisors claiming they completed various track inspections on the MBTA Red Line.
Instead, prosecutors say, security camera footage captured at various places on the Cabot Yard grounds, looking at their phones, sitting in private vehicles, chatting with colleagues and detailing a private vehicle inside the Cabot Yard’s garage.
Prosecutors claim Pfaffinger, who supervised the other four, “not only knew that his subordinates worked on private vehicles during work hours, but had his subordinates work on his own vehicle.” The T said Pfaffinger still works at the T but is currently on leave.
The charges carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
Gambel’s attorney Michael Tumposky told State House News Service that he believes the charges were “federal overreach” and the matter should, instead, have been handled as an internal matter by the MBTA.
The MBTA thanked U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley’s office for helping it hold staff accountable for safety-critical work.
“As a public agency, it is our responsibility to be good stewards of public resources and deliver safe and reliable service to transit users. That’s why General Manager Phil Eng took immediate action to hold these employees accountable when this misconduct came to light,” T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in a statement. “Their actions do not reflect the values of the MBTA, and they will not impact the improvements we continue to make across the system. We are taking these allegations very seriously, as we have an obligation to the public and to our workforce to ensure that every employee meets the highest standards of conduct.”
The T battled poor track conditions in recent years, undertaking a wide-ranging, 14-month repair campaign, now completed, to fix slowdowns those poor conditions caused.
A few months prior to Eng’s appointment as general manager, the T’s interim head Jeff Gonneville declared a system-wide emergency 25 mph speed limit on all subway lines in March 2023 after discovering a range of inspection and record-keeping failings. Eng and other T leaders conducted two internal audits shortly after arriving, releasing the details later that year before launching the repair campaign.
