MTA fraud detailed Reports: overtime & time off abuse, conflicts of interest
Dozens of MTA employees have been disciplined for overtime abuse, conflicts of interest and flat-out corruption since 2017, according to a trove of backlogged reports released by the agency’s Inspector general Wednesday.
One report shows how a Long Island Rail Road foreman was repeatedly caught at home while on the clock, collecting overtime cash.
Another details how a high-ranking Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police officer used his company car to get to a second job in the funeral business.
Yet another explains how a maintenance worker lied about a sick parent to gallivant around the Europe.
The 30 reports come six weeks after Carolyn Pokorny (above) was named to replace Barry Kluger as IG.
The most troubling incident detailed is the fraud by Raymond Murphy, a retired foreman who worked in LIRR buildings and bridges.
On 10 occasions from April through June of 2018, the IG found Murphy camped out or near his home while he was clocked into work. That allowed him to rake in $280,000 in pay over the year, roughly half of it overtime, increasing his pension payments as a retiree.
The LIRR expects to sue Murphy for the hours he did not work — officials believe he owes about $10,000.
The recent fraud at the MTA, however, goes deeper than falsified time sheets.
Thomas Odessa, a former MTA Police Department assistant chief, proved to be as crooked as they come.
He was absent from meetings where officers were told GPS was being added to cruisers. The IG found Odessa was regularly late for work and left early, often leaving to work a job in the funeral industry. He made 14 trips in 2017 that stopped near funeral homes and churches, violating MTA rules as well as the requirement to disclose outside employment. He no longer works for the MTA and must repay $130,000.
One report shows a worker’s abuse of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows workers to take unpaid leave for personal emergencies and keep their jobs.
Henry DeLeon, a subway signal maintainer, took 12 weeks off between March 2016 and March 2017 for what he said was a sick parent. But he used the time to get married and take a lavish European honeymoon.
Two months earlier, DeLeon claimed eight days of family leave to volunteer as a coach for the New York Grays youth baseball team as they traveled to Maryland and Georgia.
He was fired last year after the IG reported his lies.