Report: DRPA Wasted Millions' Worth of Tolls, PATCO Fares

Years of weak oversight and mismanagement at the Delaware River Port Authority led to millions of dollars' worth of tolls and PATCO fares being misspent or wasted, according to a report issued Thursday by the New Jersey Comptroller's Office.

“In nearly every area we looked at, we found people who treated the DRPA like a personal ATM, from DRPA commissioners to private vendors to community organizations,” State Comptroller Matthew Boxer said in a statement. “People with connections at the DRPA were quick to put their hand out when dealing with the agency, and they generally were not disappointed when they did.” 

That waste and abuse included $1.5 million in shady insurance commission dealings, the report said, as well as smaller bits—from $59,180 for 13 half-page newspaper advertisements, to $15,000 for galas such as “A Night in Acapulco,” to two $5,000 payments for DRPA officials to get insider access to Pennsylvania state legislators while attending Phillies games, a cocktail hour at the Penn’s Landing Festival Pier and a carriage ride historical tour.

The comptroller's report also criticized $440 million in economic development projects run by the DRPA, and said the organization “ignored its own policies and procedures in funding and monitoring those economic development projects in an informal manner.”

The report concluded the DRPA has to make reforms across the board, and gave the organization credit for making moves such as ending free tolls for DRPA employees.

“Failure to rectify the shortcomings discussed in this report will lead to their inevitable repetition, continued waste of tollpayer funds and further damage to the reputation of DRPA,” the report said.

DRPA officials issued a statement in response to the report that said the organization is working to end “practices that we agree should not be repeated in the future.”

“We take the concerns expressed by the OSC very seriously, and we will be taking steps to evaluate and address recommendations in the report as promptly as possible,” their statement said.

The entire report is available on the New Jersey Comptroller's website.