These cops are riding the rails of gold.
Nearly nine out of 10 MTA police officers who patrol the Staten Island Railway, Long Island Railroad and Metro-North rake in more than $100,000 a year, according to MTA salary data obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information request.
The commuter-rail cops averaged $27,000 in annual overtime and more than $127,000 in total pay last year. More than 86 percent took in $100,000 or more in total earnings, and 11 cops topped $200,000.
The biggest cheese of all — bagging an eye-popping $234,641.84 last year — was Brian Sullivan, a Metro-North detective sergeant who joined the force in July 1992.
He took home $76,000 in overtime and almost $158,000 in base pay, which, in a 40-hour work week, would mean he was paid $75.96 an hour. But according to the MTA, his hourly pay rate in 2012 was only $53.21 an hour. Sullivan’s total earnings could buy more than 93,800 MetroCard rides, 11,732 round-trip tickets from Grand Central Station to New Rochelle, or eight MTA police cars.
“They clearly have a problem,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign. “Authorities — unlike the mayor of the city, who’s elected — their people are appointed. They’re not subject to the same kind of legal and political restrictions.”
The 657-member MTA Police Department patrols MTA trains, stations and railways in 14 counties in New York and Connecticut. Its $2.9 million budget is covered by fares collected from city straphangers and suburban commuters.
Sullivan declined to talk with The Post.
“The only other detective sergeant in the northern district was off sick for six months in 2012, so Sullivan worked a lot,” said MTA spokeswoman Marjorie Anders.
He isn’t the MTA police’s overtime king by a long shot, though.
That title goes to Winston Henvill, a police officer who took in $99,000 in OT last year.
Henvill declined to say what the overtime was for, and referred questions to the MTA.
Aubrey Grant, an officer who joined the force a mere eight years ago, clocked in almost $99,000 in OT alone; Officer Richard Ciullo banked $94,000; and Officer Stephen Lucarini got $91,000. None of the three returned calls.
Anders said the OT was necessary because of terrorist threats.
Last year’s OT — $17 million in all — reflects a major increase compared to the beaucoup bucks — $16 million — MTA cops made the year before.
Overtime per cop averaged $27,000 annually in 2012 — about $1,000 less than what most cops took home in OT in 2011. Most of the overtime pay for the top earners comes from federal counterterrorism grant money, Anders noted. Annually, those grants to the MTA Police total more than $5 million.
The overtime is needed because the threats are real, Anders said.
“The terrorism budget allows us to provide extra coverage to keep our transit system safe,” she said.