State Senator Mario Mattera didn’t back down as he confronted Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair Janno Lieber in a fiery Albany budget hearing that erupted into one of the most dramatic moments of this year’s legislative session.
Mattera (R-Smithtown) sharply questioned the MTA’s $35 million contract with Allied Universal Security Services after reports surfaced that some guards were caught on video opening emergency gates for fare evaders.
The Long Island Senator has been outspoken in demanding tougher oversight of what he calls a sprawling and wasteful transit bureaucracy.
“Why do we have people helping people avoid tolls? We have videos,” Mattera pressed, challenging Lieber on why taxpayer dollars were being spent on a program accused of enabling the very crime it was meant to prevent.
Lieber, visibly irritated, shot back with raised voice. “Let me finish! Let me finish!” he shouted, insisting the deployment of guards had “reduced fare evasion by 36%.”
But Mattera refused to yield, demanding accountability. He questioned who was monitoring the contractors and why the MTA continued to hemorrhage hundreds of millions of dollars annually from turnstile jumpers, bus fare scofflaws and toll dodgers.
The exchange grew so heated that Assembly Ways and Means Chair J. Gary Pretlow abruptly intervened, pounding down order in the hearing room. “Shut up,” Pretlow thundered, halting the shouting match before it spiraled further.
Here is a transcript of that heated fight:
Lieber: Let me finish. Let me finish.
Mattera: You know what? Because you're rambling. Why are we, why do we have this? Why do we have people that are helping people? We have videos.
Lieber: It's reduced evasion by 36% Mr. Stop right now.
Mattera: Who is watching that? Who is watching that?
Lieber: Shut up!
Mattera: Don't, who are you telling shut up?
Lieber: Be quiet. I said stop.
Mattera: Excuse me. Apologize to that.
Lieber: I said I apologize.
Mattera: You better apologize. He started yelling first. Tell him to stop.
Mattera later defended his tough questioning, saying, “I am being respectful and somebody’s not answering questions properly.” Lieber eventually apologized as well, admitting, “I shouldn’t raise my voice.”
The confrontation highlighted the growing frustration among lawmakers over fare evasion losses that watchdogs estimate approached $1 billion in 2024 alone. Despite Lieber’s assurances that evasion rates are dropping, senators like Mattera argue the MTA must do more to stop waste and restore confidence in the system.