Pa. turnpike officials still getting free cars - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State auditors are criticizing the fact that Pennsylvania Turnpike commissioners are still driving free cars.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Turnpike Commission Chairman William Lieberman got a $40,000 2013 Jeep Cherokee on Dec. 28. The newspaper reports he 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."

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