Tracy Collins, Mayor Adams' longtime girlfriend and highly paid “senior advisor” to the city's Department of Education, has been a part of Mr. Hitzoner's $45,000 worth of luxury trips, but has not shown up for work for nearly a year. week, according to the complaint filed here.
Collins, 61, a former Department of Energy teacher, principal and assistant superintendent, is referred to as “Adams' domestic partner” in a 57-page federal indictment against the mayor unsealed this week.
Since 2016, the Fort Lee, N.J., resident has been involved in Adams' lavish trips to India, Hungary, Turkey, Jordan, Oman and Ghana, according to prosecutors who have accused the mayor of accepting up to $123,000 worth of travel benefits. He accompanied me on trips.
On Friday, a former DOE employee filed a complaint about Collins and her “no-show job” with DOE Ethics Officer Samantha Biletsky, the Conflicts of Interest Commission, the City Schools Task Force, and the City Bureau of Investigation, all of which were questioned. If she reports luxurious perks upon request.
The employee also claimed that Collins has rarely been in the office since November 2023, leaving his work calendar blank.
Former employees report that co-workers have not seen Mr. Collins, who makes $221,597 a year, in person since Thanksgiving.
“It is my understanding that DOE employees are only allowed to work from home two days a week,” a former employee who previously worked in the same building as Collins wrote in an email to Biletsky.
The complaint says investigators should look into allegations that Collins “received more than 100,000 gifts from foreign governments and failed to declare the gifts on his conflict of interest disclosure.”
Collins' work hours and attendance records will also be reviewed to “prove that she took time off during her illegal travels,” according to the complaint.
According to the federal indictment against the mayor, Adams and Collins traveled to Budapest via Istanbul in January 2018.
A few months ago, Mr. Collins bought two economy class tickets from Turkish Airlines for about $560 each, but at the request of Adams staff, he paid more than $14,000, the highest price offered by the airline. The document states that he received a complimentary upgrade to the equivalent business class seat. .
The indictment states that Adams' 2018 Conflict of Interest Committee disclosure form omitted free and reduced travel.
All city employees and senior officials are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest to the COIB under the New York City Charter.
In January 2019, Collins bought herself an economy ticket to travel with Adams to Turkey, Jordan and Oman.
According to the prosecutor's complaint, her ticket was upgraded to seats worth at least $7,000, but the staffer requested a separate upgrade for Ms. Adams' ticket because it was purchased through a Turkish entrepreneur who later became a senior staffer in the administration. did.
“We are currently reviewing and evaluating the allegations,” an SCI spokesperson told the Post.
COIB Executive Director Carolyn Lisa Miller said the city's Conflict of Interest Commission is “prohibited from commenting on a public official's past conduct until a violation is ultimately determined.”
