UPDATE:Metra Director Pagano Throws Himself Front Of Train Sources Say[Feds Durbin Probe Rail Boss]

At the scene, authorities found Pagano’s wallet and a copy of Metra’s procedures for a service disruption after a suicide, sources said.

He also left an apparent suicide note at his Crystal Lake home, McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said.

“I’m shocked at the whole thing,” said Doug Davidson, an official with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “He would definitely know the impact it would have on the engineer and others on the train. You question whether he was making a conscious statement to the world.”

Sources told the Tribune that Metra’s special counsel has looked into whether Pagano drew a salary advance on vacation time for 2010 and 2011 without authorization. Pagano got 11 weeks a year of vacation, meaning that one year of his vacation pay equals about $57,000.

The financial irregularities date back several years, sources said.

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cdevanshawk I am a former Metra employee and I totally agree that he took the selfish way out. Metra is issuing statements stating how sorry and devastated they are at the loss.....I haven’t seen one single statement about that Engineer of the train he jumped in front of. That Engineer will have to live with those images....NOT PHIL PAGANO! I tried in 2005 to inform EEO of Chicago how underhanded some of Metra’s practices are and some of their officials.....but did they want to listen to me....NO! NOW MAYBE... more
I am a former Metra employee and I totally agree that he took the selfish way out. Metra is issuing statements stating how sorry and devastated they are at the loss.....I haven’t seen one single statement about that Engineer of the train he jumped in front of. That Engineer will have to live with those images....NOT PHIL PAGANO! I tried in 2005 to inform EEO of Chicago how underhanded some of Metra’s practices are and some of their officials.....but did they want to listen to me....NO! NOW MAYBE SOMEONE WILL STAND UP TAKE A LONG HARD LOOK AND LISTEN! I was let go from Metra with NO PRIORS....NOT ONE WRITE UP, WARNING ETC,....and the jist of it.....some top Metra officials knew what was going on in my department...but I guess they figured WHATEVER and terminated me anyway! My thoughts and prayers go out to the Engineer’s family......I pray that he heals from this tragedy that unfolded in front of his very eyes and that God blesses him with the strength to over come this! And I also wonder why a man would commit suicide over $56,000.00 when he was making nearly $300,000 grand a year.....makes you stop and wonder if it’s just $56,000.00 (yea right)! I wish someone would call me.........I could give them 11 years worth of information from 1994 through 2005! I said when they let me go ...”what goes around comes around”. Yes it’s sad that he took this selfish way out......because it is pure selfish, but again my prayers are with the family of that Engineer and I hope that whoever is in charge of this investigation dig deep into Metra.....there is so much there to uncover....BELIEVE ME!
4:40 PM, 5.7.10

Metra boss Phil Pagano’s suicide a repeating pageant for Illinois

When politicos play musical chairs in Illinois, what happens after the music stops and there’s no safe place to sit?

There have been four dead in recent years, unrelated cases of suicide, different except for the acts of the common pageant: The corruption investigators call. The music ends abruptly.

Two were done in by guns, one on a beach, the other under a bridge. A third was by pills in a construction trailer.

The fourth came Friday morning during rush hour, announced by that body under that white sheet on the Metra tracks in McHenry County

Each of the four politicos had connections and influence, but they weren’t big players. They were prominent suits out front.

But true power is reserved only for a few. Such people never become anxious when the calliope music starts cranking. They’ve got other people to run around the empty chairs. These folks are called buffers.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0509-20100509,0,7560705.column

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