These cops are riding the rails of gold.
Nearly nine out of 10 MTA police office🌜rs who patrol the Staten Island Railway, Long Island Railroad and Metro-North rake in more than $100,000 a year, according to MTA salary data obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information request.
The commuter-rai🌌l cops averaged $27,000 in annual overtime and more than $127,000 in total pay last year. More than 86 percent took in $100,000 or more in total earnings, and 11 cops topped $200,000.
The biggest 🌸cheese of all🐼 — bagging an eye-popping $234,641.84 last year — was Brian Sullivan, a Metro-North detective sergeant who joined the force in July 1992.
He took home $76,000 in overtime and almost $158,000 in base pay, which, in a 40-hour work week, would mean he was paid 💮$75.96 an hour. But according to the MTA, his hourly pay rate in 2012 was only $53.21 an hour. Sullivan’s tota🍰l earnings could buy more than 93,800 MetroCard rides, 11,732 round-trip tickets from Grand Central Station to New Rochelle, or eight MTA police cars.
“They clearly have a problemꦕ,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign. “Authorities — unlike the mayor of the city⭕, who’s elected — their people are appointed. They’re not subject to the same kind of legal and political restrictions.”
The 657-member MTA Police Department patrols MTA trains, stations and railways in 14 counties in New York and Connectiౠcut. Its $2.9 million budget is covered by fares collected from city straphangers and suburban commuters.
Sullivan declined to talk with The Post.
“The only other detective sergeant in the northern district was of꧃f sick for six months in 2012, so Sull🍌ivan worked a lot,” said MTA spokeswoman Marjorie Anders.
He isn’t the MTA police’s overtime king by a long shot, ജthough.
That title goes to Winston H🗹envill, a police officer who took in $99,000 in OT last year.
Henvill declined to sa𒁃y what the ov🌳ertime was for, and referred questions to the MTA.
Aubrey Grant, an officer who joined the force a mere eight years ago, clocked in almost $99,000 in OT alone; Officer Richard Ciullo banked $94,000; and Officer𝕴 Stephen Lucarini got $91,000. None of the three returned calls.
Anders said the OT was necessary bec꧂a🅺use of terrorist threats.
Last year’s OT — $17 mil🃏lion in all — reflects a major increase compared to the beaucoup 🎶bucks — $16 million — MTA cops made the year before.
Overtime per cop averaged $27,000 annually in 2012 — about $1,000 less than what most cops took home 🎉in OT in 2011. Most of the overtime pay for the top earners comes from federal counterterrorism grant money, Aꦓnders noted. Annually, those grants to the MTA Police total more than $5 million.
The overtime is need🐼ed beca🍎use the threats are real, Anders said.
“The terrorism budget allows us to provide extra coverage to keep our transit system safe,”ღ she said.