New York MTA Manager Caught Using Blow-Up Doll to Evade HOV Restrictions

Anyone caught in rush hour traffic in a big city on the way to work can sympathize with Giulio Divirgilio, a general superintendent at the MTA Buses department. Mr. Divirgilio decided to trick out his Kia Telluride by placing a blow-up doll in the passenger seat in order to drive in the HOV lanes on the expressway.

To be sure, it’s not a very unique subterfuge. Drivers have been using blow-up dolls, mannequins, and even stuffed animals to simulate a passenger in their vehicles for as long as HOV lanes have been in existence.

But Mr. Divirgilio’s response to the query by the New York Post reporter whether or not he was trying to evade the law was priceless.

Confronted by The Post outside the East New York building, Divirgilio denied he had the inflatable suit-sporting businessman in tow to illegally cruise in lanes reserved for high-occupancy vehicles.

“I don’t use it for the HOV,” the $122,000-per-year government official insisted. “I use it for the company.”

Pressed whether the dummy’s express purpose was in fact to cheat the HOV, Divirgilio replied: “Have I ever lied to you?”

You can imagine what his coworkers had to say about that.- READ MORE