NYC Transit boss and his female subordinate investigated for inappropriate work behavior

Two MTA workers who were once romantically linked are feeling the heat after they repeatedly left their work site for several on-the-job rendezvous, according to the results of an investigation released on Monday.

The MTA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) used surveillance cameras, payroll records, assignment sheets and other means to help prove allegations that a level-two maintenance supervisor and his female subordinate assigned to Brooklyn spent “significant time periods” together while they were on duty and getting paid.

The investigation revealed that the rendezvous occurred during overnight shifts, and without management’s permission.

According to the OIG, the investigation began in March 2023 after multiple anonymous complaints claimed the supervisor and trackworker were romantically involved and “inappropriately” leaving their DeKalb Avenue station post in Brooklyn. On five out of six dates that investigators surveilled the pair, they were seen away from NYC Transit property when they were supposed to be working.

According to the report, the supervisor and trackworker were seen together on two separate occasions in the woman’s car, tucked away on a “quiet and secluded street” with a sunshade up in the front windshield despite it being nighttime. Investigators found that they were in the car together for three hours one night and about an hour on the other.

When investigators asked the trackworker if she was intimate with the supervisor while parked in their vehicles, she said they “were physically close and touched.”

Surveillance photos also showed the trackworker’s car parked outside a laundromat in Brooklyn, where she had done laundry while on duty.

Meanwhile, according to the report, the maintenance supervisor said he has “a lot of downtime” during his shift and admitted he sits in his personal vehicle for hours when this happens.

The OIG investigation found that both employees violated NYC Transit policies, and the maintenance supervisor failed to manage the trackworker properly.

“MTA supervisors are expected to lead by example, not teach their subordinates to violate the rules and go off-site together while on the clock,” Inspector General Daniel Cort said. “This case should send a clear message that my office will relentlessly pursue unethical conduct and blatant mismanagement day and night.”

MTA officials said both employees were suspended without pay in June 2024. The supervisor was demoted in September and returned to work as a level-one maintenance supervisor without backpay, while the trackworker was suspended without pay through December. 

“The MTA holds its workforce to the highest standard and these two employees should have known better,” said Joana Flores, an MTA spokesperson. “Lying and misusing work time will not be tolerated and is unacceptable. Both employees were immediately removed from service without pay and faced disciplinary action.”

During the pair’s interviews, investigators noted that they each “acknowledged their improper behavior” and expressed remorse.

OIG did not make any criminal referrals in relation to the investigation.