Auditors call for PA Turnpike commissioners to stop driving free cars

(Harrisburg) -- State auditors are criticizing the fact that Pennsylvania Turnpike commissioners are still driving free cars.

Turnpike Commission Chairman William Lieberman got a $40,000 2013 Jeep Cherokee on Dec. 28. He reportedly handed down the 2012 model he got a year earlier to fellow Commissioner Pasquale "Pat" Deon.

The other two commissioners, Michael Pratt and William Lincoln, drive 2011 Ford Explorers that cost $33,945 each.

Outgoing Auditor General Jack Wagner criticized the free cars, calling them an "overly generous'' perk. Tolls went up Jan. 6.

State auditors write that they don't believe part-time commissioners require permanently assigned vehicles. They say the commission should discontinue the practice.

The commission's acting chief executive officer, Craig Shuey, calls the vehicles "appropriate and necessary.''