New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today estimated a potential Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) strike could cause up to $50 million in lost economic activity each day.

“A LIRR strike would cause headaches and financial hardships for riders and businesses. It would also be another devastating blow to a region that is still struggling to recover from Superstorm Sandy and the recession,” DiNapoli said. “Both sides must go the extra mile to reach a reasonable settlement so we can avoid the costly impact of a strike and the millions of dollars in lost economic activity.”

An audit of five counties by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office found that hundreds of county jail inmates received inappropriate payments totaling more than $236,000 from various social welfare programs and almost $325,000 in state unemployment insurance (UI).

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today his office reviewed 2,067 contracts valued at $2.3 billion and approved more than 840,600 payments worth nearly $10.8 billion in June. His office also rejected 224 contracts and related transactions valued at $320.7 million and more than 1,400 payments valued at nearly $4.1 million due to fraud, waste or other improprieties.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the results of the New York State Common Retirement Fund’s successful efforts to expand disclosure of corporate political spending by its portfolio companies. Over the past year, the $176.2 billion Fund filed shareholder proposals seeking disclosure from 29 companies in which it has investments of more than $2.73 billion.

Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that William Rapfogel, former executive director and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council), has been sentenced to 3 1/3 to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $3 million in restitution to Met Council. The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that Rapfogel and his co-conspirators stole approximately $9 million from the taxpayer-funded nonprofit organization in a 20-year grand larceny and kickback scheme.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P.

"Today’s bond rating upgrade from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, coming on the heels of upgrades by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, again shows that New York state’s finances are headed in the right direction.

"The new AA+ rating for the state’s General Obligation bonds reflects our recent history of on-time budgets, a well-funded pension system and spending restraint.

The city of Glens Falls’ financial condition has declined due to burdensome debt costs, the subsidization of a downtown civic center and expenses that outpace revenues, according to a report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The report, part of DiNapoli’s fiscal stress initiative, is the latest in a series of fiscal profiles on municipalities across the state.