MTA Fires Beacon Man for His Role in Capitol Building Riot
It s been over 2 months since the attack on the Capitol building and those who attended are still facing repercussions.
Following the January 6th Capitol Building riot, we learned that several people from the Hudson Valley were involved. The FBI and Washington DC Police issued photos of those who attended the protest and made their way into the Capitol in hopes that the public would report them.
Will Pepe, from Beacon, was one of the first to be recognized.
Pepe, who was employed by Metro-North, had been suspended for allegedly calling out of work sick. The MTA made a statement to The New York Post at the time explaining:
An alleged member of the Proud Boys from the Hudson Valley who was active at the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol has been fired from his job with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.Dutchess County resident William Pepe, of Beac…
Metro North employee, Will Pepe, fired for involvement in Capitol siege
WABC
Share:
NEW YORK (WABC) A Metro North employee who was identified as one of the rioters during the Capitol siege has been fired, according to officials.
Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi made the announcement of Will Pepe s firing in a statement on Tuesday. We made it clear since the Jan. 6 attack on our nation s Capitol building that the apparent participation by one of our employees was unacceptable and inconsistent with Metro-North s values, Rinaldi said. After affording Mr. Pepe the due process to which he was entitled under his collective bargaining agreement, we have terminated him today for conduct unbecoming a Metro-North employee.
“Feeding our families again and keeping the economy going, by keeping us employed,” said Carol Kirner, a conductor and union leader.
“When will this start to recede and how will it affect work patterns, and will that be permanent? I’m very optimistic to be honest with you,” said Rinaldi.
UNH Adjunct Professor John Rosen said studies show working from home has changed the landscape of commuting.
“The individual, the employee, is on balance happier and, at least in their opinion, more productive at home,” said Rosen.
He said besides cutting out commutes, there are fewer distractions from other employees. And companies are considering hybrid work schedules similar to ones in schools, where employees may report to the office a few times per week.
11:23
The $900 billion COVID-19 funding package President Trump signed Sunday contains some $4 billion for the MTA, which includes Metro-North Railroad. Proposed layoffs and drastic service cuts can be shelved, for now. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne spoke with Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi about what the funding means and more.
First, the Federal Railroad Administration on Tuesday announced there is now full implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) technology on all required freight and passenger routes across the country, meeting a December 31 deadline. Metro-North and Long Island Railroad announced December 23 they had completed full implementation. Through PTC, the trains automatically communicate in real time with central dispatching offices – sharing information on train position, speed and the actions of the train engineer. If a train is traveling too fast, the system automatically takes control of the train to slow it down while alerting