who works for the public transportation commission?

As you know, the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission (PTC) put the screws to a handful of entrepreneurs, and opened the door for one of their own to steal the idea.

That’s right, the PTC is supposed to regulate taxicab service here in this great county of ours, but sometimes ends up simply putting money in cab company owners’ pockets.

Local journalists have done a pretty good job at getting a handle on some pieces of the way PTC operates, and we’re going to try to mashup the work of local media, bloggers, and you (leave comments!) in some attempt at a bigger picture.

First up is Cesar Padilla and Victor DiMaio, and just a taste of PTC chair Kevin White.  Tips of the hat go to 10Connects’ investigative reporter Mike Deeson, and the St. Pete Times’ Janet Zink.

The interim executive director of the PTC is Cesar Padilla.  The word “interim” is there because Padilla is not qualified to be the director – he never made it through college.  More recently, he’s been found to use the PTC’s resources during work hours to check out Facebook and YouTube videos of, uh, “beach scenes.”

Padilla is not quoted in those stories, because he sends the PTC lobbyist to run interference.  But why on earth does the PTC need a lobbyist?  Because PTC chairman Kevin White says so, that’s why.

Back in 2006, Victor DiMaio was a consultant for Kevin White’s successful campaign for Hillsborough County Commissioner.  In 2007, DiMaio was looking for work.  Coincidentally (must be a coincidence, right?), PTC chair Kevin White had just suggested to Padilla that the PTC needed a lobbyist.  Within two weeks, Padilla hired Victor DaMaio.

At the time, it was just $5,000 for a month’s worth of work to help a couple of bills get through the legislature:

“One thing led to another,” DiMaio said. “I need a job, and they need somebody to babysit these two bills.”

The month went by, and, well, that one thing led to another, and another, and another…  So in June 2009 – 19 months later – DiMaio’s annual $60,000 contract was renewed, and now says he is a “necessary employee” of the agency, and that he “took a 40% pay cut” to do it.  How he went from “I need a job” to I “took a 40% pay cut” is unclear.

As for the “necessary employee” part, State Rep. Rich Glorioso used to be a PTC board member, and says the agency doesn’t need a lobbyist and it is a waste of public money.

But more convoluted than DiMaio working in a heretofore nonexistent gig, is his buddy and Chairman of the PTC board, Kevin White.

Coming soon:   We’ll take a closer look at the makeup of the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission board, and try to find out how the PTC gets the money to pay for employees they don’t need.