

An MTA worker took 140 days of leave in one year, claiming he needed to care for his sick dad — but was actually getting married, traveling Europe and coaching a baseball team, the agency’s watchdog found.
A report released by the MTA’s Inspector General Wednesday says subway signal maintainer Henry DeLeon took the family and medical leave across 12 months beginning March 2016 — including 22 straight days in September.
But investigators found a wedding registry for his Sept. 2 nuptials in Long Island, and credit card records subsequently showed multiple transactions across London, Barcelona and Monaco during the rest of the month.
Meanwhile, the investigators also learned DeLeon volunteered as a coach for the New York Grays Baseball Club — whose head coach verified that he trained and traveled with the team, driving it to out-of-state games.
On days he was supposed to be on family leave, DeLeon’s credit card records showed he made purchases at fast food joints in cities that matched up with the team’s travel schedule, the report says.
When confronted, he at first claimed he took the leave “every time [his dad] got sick,” but confirmed his marriage and honeymoon.
DeLeon — who began at the MTA in 2007 and earned $44,754, according to the Empire Center — was fired by the agency. But he still kept his pension, according to sources close to the investigation.
He couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
© 2019 New York Post
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- July 10, 2019