BART agent’s good deed won’t go unpunished

If you work for BART, you’d better not to be too nice to anyone — it could get you fired.

BART station agent Jim Stanek finds himself in trouble after improperly giving away $300 worth of unused tickets left behind by commuters. He gave the tickets to a 16-year-old student who was struggling to afford his $11 daily BART commute to and from school.

Stanek, a 65-year-old who has worked for BART for seven years, is looking at forced early retirement. He complains that he was just trying to do a good deed — for a kid who lost both of his parents, no less.

He told the Chron:

“I’m not saying I’m unblemished here. I made a mistake. I screwed up. [But] I gave tickets to the boy for reasons not for profit — for benevolence, to help the kid.”

The tickets helped the student pay for long rides from the home of his adopted parents to his school. His daily ride totals about $200 a month.

The kicker is that Stanek wasn’t taking anything from BART — he was giving away leftover tickets that, according to Stanek, are usually thrown away anyway.

A BART spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of the case. Let’s hope that means they’re about to realize how stupid they’re being and leave this fine man alone.