http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20150630/4-from-greater-new-haven-among-accused-metro-north-exam-cheaters-blumenthal-to-push-for-hearing<br /><br />6/30/15<br /><br />NEW YORK &gt;&gt; U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he plans to push for a congressional hearing to get answers from Metro-North after 13 current and former employees — including four New Haven-area residents — were indicted for allegedly helping others cheat on exams to become licensed conductors and engineers.<br /><br />“I believe that some public hearing or other forum is absolutely vital to restore trust in (Metro-North’s) integrity after these charges,” said Blumenthal, who called the number of employees indicted “sweeping and shocking.” <br /><br />Between November 2011 and May 2014, the 13 are accused of emailing photographs of tests and answer sheets, and in one instance recording a portion of an exam with a cellphone while the instructor was out of the room, according to a press release from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.<br /><br />The tests evaluate knowledge of braking controls, emergency procedures, train traffic signals, speed limits and physical characteristics of various Metro-North lines and stations, among other things. <br /><br />According to court documents obtained Tuesday by the Register, one defendant, Anthony Carbone, 56, of North Haven, allegedly attached a note to one of the stolen exams that read: “I would not let too many people know about this test. Word gets out, we’re done for.”<br /><br />Along with Carbone, three others indicted are from Greater New Haven: Joseph Fowler, 31, of West Haven; Sean Macauley, 39, of North Branford; and Coltyn Reindel, 25, of North Haven.<br /><br />A woman who answered the phone at a number listed for Reindel said late Tuesday morning that he didn’t live there and quickly hung up. A message left for Carbone was not immediately returned. No one answered the door Tuesday at addresses listed for Macauley and Fowler. No listed telephone number was immediately available for either man.<br /><br />Fowler admitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department that he received and emailed tests and did not think it was out of the ordinary, according to court documents. Fowler told police, “it’s known that if you live or work on the New Haven Line, this information will eventually get down to you.”<br /><br />The other defendants, all New York state residents, are Melanie Bannister, Bernice Bell, Danielle Bonge, Omar Carrillo, Dennis Degenfelder, Donald Finnerty, Raymond Fuentes, Patrick Jones and John Twardy.<br /><br />All 13 defendants are charged in New York State Supreme Court with impairing the integrity of government licensing examination, a class D felony. <br /><br />“We trust train conductors and engineers to deliver us safely to work, home, and everywhere in between,” Vance said in the release. “In this case, the defendants are charged with helping candidates cheat on their license exams, which are designed to test individuals’ knowledge of critical safety information, such as speed limits and emergency procedures. The alleged conduct poses potential dangers far beyond the act of passing answers.”<br /><br />Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan said Tuesday that Macauley, Bell, Degenfelder and Finnerty were terminated by Metro-North at some point over the past year. Donovan said it was not clear exactly when they were terminated and it may not have been all at once. The other nine were suspended without pay Monday. <br /><br />In a statement, Metro-North called the allegations “extremely disturbing” and said safety is its highest priority.<br /><br />“The railroad is committed to rooting out any activities that fall short of the highest standards,” Metro-North said in the release.<br /><br />Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, said officials are “deeply disturbed with the allegations.”<br /><br /> Metro-North officials said that the railroad became aware of the allegations a year ago and brought them to MTA police and the MTA inspector general to investigate, which led to the indictments.<br /><br />The railroad said it disbanded one class of conductor trainees and retested and extended the training of other conductor and locomotive engineer trainees.<br /><br />Metro-North said it also overhauled testing procedures and said it now uses randomized tests. Engineer and conductor trainees have to complete a battery of written and performance tests, are evaluated by qualified employees during on-the-job-training and must complete two comprehensive performance tests to qualify. <br /><br />Conductors and engineers also undergo mandatory annual retraining over the course of several days. <br /><br />Given that, Metro-North said it “is confident that the railroad is safe for its customers and employees, and that every engineer and conductor is competent and qualified to do their jobs.”<br /><br />Metro-North has been beset with safety problems — some deadly — in the last few years, prompting many calls for safety improvements, including from Blumenthal.<br /><br />Those incidents include a fiery crash Feb. 3 with a car in Valhalla, New York, in which six people died. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the train was traveling within the speed limit and the engineer had sounded the horn.<br /><br />A derailment on Dec. 1, 2013, that killed four was attributed to the engineer falling asleep.<br /> <br />In December 2014, a Milford woman was killed after she was caught between two cars at Grand Central Terminal and fell under the platform.<br /><br />On Oct. 27, the NTSB released its final report on five Metro-North accidents in 2013 and early 2014 that had resulted in six fatalities.<br /><br />In one, on May 28, 2013, a student rail-traffic controller was found responsible for the death of track foreman Robert Luden of East Haven. A supervisor had stepped out of the control room and the student removed a blocking device that would have kept the train from hitting Luden. The accident occurred at the train station in West Haven before it opened.