NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — An MTA employee was fired for using work resources and time to run his personal sneaker resale side hustle, the Office of the MTA Inspector General announced on Thursday.
An investigation found that the employee, a former MTA Headquarters computer support analyst, conducted a personal business reselling sneakers during MTA work hours, on an MTA computer and using an MTA vehicle. He also had two other unauthorized side jobs, a package delivery company and snow-removal service.
Officials also discovered that the worker's manager inadequately tracked his time, attendance and MTA vehicle usage, admittedly using the honor system. He received a final written warning that includes a two-year suspension of remote work privileges and promotion opportunities, and he must forfeit the next two general wage increases.
"This employee brazenly used MTA resources for his sneaker business and worked multiple outside jobs without permission—thanks in part to a woeful lack of supervision," MTA Inspector General Daniel Cort said. "His manipulation of the timekeeping system and breach of trust cost him his job and put his supervisor on notice."
The investigation was launched after the office of the inspector general received an anonymous complaint about the sneaker side gig in 2023. This was one of four jobs the computer analyst held, including his two other businesses and a position as an airline baggage handler, which officials said he began months before obtaining approval.
The query found that in addition to working at one of his secondary jobs during MTA work hours or modifying his MTA schedule without permission to accommodate his other gigs, the employee accessed sneaker-related websites, went through side hustle-adjacent emails and bookmarked over 350 pornographic websites on his work computer.
