Bureaucrats vs. Taxpayers, Part XIV

This is a two-for-one blog post. Not only do we get more sordid details about overpaid bureaucrats scamming the pay rules, but we also find out that this latest taxpayer ripoff was financed with so-called stimulus funds:

Highly touted Bay State job creation programs have stimulated a pile of pocket-padding overtime for state workers and detail pay for cops even as the unemployment rate continues to climb, a Herald payroll analysis shows. Three civil engineers with the Department of Conservation and Recreation racked up overtime tallies last year of more than $100,000 each working “night and day” on bridge projects, officials say. One of the engineers propped up his $76,000 salary with added hours to secure a lofty $205,000 in take-home pay last year, according to the newly released state payroll obtained by the Herald. Two other civil engineers pocketed an extra $117,000 each in OT on top of their modest salaries. ...The news of the overtime bonanza hits as the state announced yesterday the January unemployment rate jumped to 9.5 percent. ...Out of the state’s 96,000-plus employees, close to 50,000 earned extra pay with overtime, second state positions, vacation and sick-time buyback and other varied reasons, according to a payroll analysis.