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Nearly everyone agrees overtime at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is out of control. And while union and management wrangle over who's to blame, the state's fiscal watchdog wants to see if the situation is truly criminal.

"It's more about looking at specific cases where there are individuals, whatever title they may have, that were doing something that would rise to the level of fraud," said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

DiNapoli's audit -- his first seeking criminal evidence -- will probe suspicious transactions, including a lack of documentation for more than three quarters of sampled overtime reports. Anything that looks like fraud will go to prosecutors.

Not only does fraudulent overtime inflate salaries, it also increases long-term costs since pensions are based on the final years on the job.

In response, the MTA issued a statement saying, "We welcome the comptroller's assistance as we continue to fulfill our commitment to reduce overtime."

MTA Chairman Jay Walder has targeted overtime, which grew by $600 million over four years, as an area the agency has to do a better job policing. But the MTA's largest union is questioning how strong that commitment really is.

"When all is said and done, more overtime will have been worked by Local 100 members in 2010 and 2011 than ever before, because of these personnel moves that they've made," said Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen.

The MTA says the layoffs of hundreds of bus drivers, station agents and other transit workers this year, along with big reductions in service, were absolutely necessary. But the union calls extra overtime the price of costly mistakes, saying, "Overtime is a necessary component of mass transit to keep service on the street. But when you cut jobs, there's going to be more overtime, not less."

DiNapoli says the MTA needs to take a fresh look at whether it should be hiring instead of firing.

"You may have situations where they can adjust schedules, situations where perhaps they need to hire a couple more people, and in the long run will save money," said the comptroller.

With fare hike hearings coming up in September, riders hope it's not too late for the MTA to find new ways to cut costs.