Kenneth Bauer violated state ethics law when he took gifts from Plasser American Corp., a Virginia-based company that was awarded a $1.75 million contract this year to replace old train parts, MTA Inspector General Matthew Sansverie said.

Although the seven-month investigation uncovered numerous ethics violations, Sansverie said he "found no evidence" the gifts were in exchange for the contract.

State law forbids MTA employees from receiving gifts from vendors.

The investigation was inadvertently made public in February after MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow blurted out at an agency board meeting that Bauer had been accused of "receiving gifts" from Plasser American.

Bauer left the MTA in March after 30 years and now works for RailWorks Corp., which performs construction and maintenance work for railroads across the country.