Pennsylvania's elected fiscal watchdog said Tuesday that the turnpike commission lost about $109 million in interest rate swaps and that it needs greater accountability in how the five commissioners' expenses are reported.
 
Auditor General Jack Wagner, whose term expires next week, said governmental entities should not be using swaps, given the risk they carry and fixed-rate borrowing being cheap.
 
The losses occurred over a nearly 13-year period ending in August 2011, Wagner said.
 
Turnpike officials said Wagner used incorrect methods to calculate the financial impact of the swaps, and acting chief executive Craig Shuey defended the agency's spirit of cooperation with Wagner's auditors, particularly on the use of free passes by turnpike employees and others.