Embattled state Turnpike Commission Chairman Mitchell Rubin has submitted a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell placing himself on an indefinite leave of absence without pay from the post he has held for more than a decade.

Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo confirmed Sunday that Rubin had submitted the letter, but he said neither he nor the governor had yet had a chance to review it.

Rubin has been under fire since the conviction of former Philadelphia Democratic state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo and Rubin's wife, Ruth Arnao, on corruption charges. One of the charges against Fumo was that he had arranged for Rubin to be paid $150,000 under a state consulting contract even though Rubin performed no work to earn the money.