A former Long Island Rail Road worker was arrested this week on charges that he lied on an inspection that came to light during a 2019 federal investigation into two trains that crashed in eastern Long Island over the Memorial Day weekend.
The federal transportation inspector general said Stuart Conklin lied on an April report about inspecting the faulty electric line that caused the May crash in Speonk. The line is supposed to be tested every 90 days.
Then, Conklin retired from the LIRR the month of the crash.
The inspector general has an LIRR video and cellphone records that show Conklin was nowhere near the electric line that he said he inspected.
Conklin could face up to two years in prison, if convicted.
No one was injured in the crash. About 30 passengers were safely evacuated.
It took 100 LIRR workers the entire Memorial Day weekend to replace hundreds of feet of ripped up track before service was restored on Monday.
