(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



The Adams Scandal Widens [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2024-09-28  

Have we only seen the tip of the iceberg with Adams’ scandals? Will more corruption come to light? Another story has just come to light. I know the New York Post is not the most credible source, but the paper claims Adams’ longtime girlfriend Tracey Collins, a highly paid “senior advisor” in the city Department of Education, joined him on $45,000 worth of expensive overseas trips — and allegedly hasn’t shown up for work in nearly a year, according to complaints filed this week.

Collins, 61, a former DOE teacher, principal and administrator who was promoted after Adams took office, is referred to as “Adams’ domestic partner” in the 57-page federal indictment unsealed against the mayor this week.

Collins, according to the NY Post, went on Adams’ trips to India, Hungary, Turkey, Jordan, Oman and Ghana starting in 2016, among other luxury jaunts, according to prosecutors who accuse the mayor of accepting travel perks worth up to $123,000.

Several months after Adams took office, he named David Banks schools chancellor. Banks quickly promoted Collins to senior adviser to the deputy chancellor of school leadership, then Desmond Blackburn, who later quit. Collins received a 23% raise to $221,597 a year. Banks resigned under a cloud of suspicion last week right at the start of a new school year. As a retired New York City public school teacher the timing of his resignation was shocking because most resigning chancelors try and wait until the end of the academic year to help the new chancelor’s transition. Banks sudden resignation comes after a flurry of other resignations by senior Adams administration members.

The Post reported that on Friday, a former DOE employee filed complaints about Collins and her “no-show job” with DOE ethics officer Samantha Biletsky, the Conflicts of Interest Board, the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools, and the city Department of Investigation, all questioning if she reported the luxury perks as required.The employee also alleged Collins has rarely appeared in the office since November 2023, and her work calendar has remained empty. The Post article claims Co-workers haven’t seen Collins in person since Thanksgiving.

As teachers, we were repeatedly reminded that we could accept no gifts with a value of over $10.00, so if a student bought me a box of Christmas candy I could not accept it, but alegedly,Collins was not reporting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts. What brazen Chutzpah!

$221,597 would hire at least four or even five teachers. Where I worked before my retirement budget constraints made it impossible to hire teachers in some license areas.

You might impugn the source, but this story fits into a wider pattern of corruption that has come to light in the wake of Adams’ corruption indictment. He should resign. New York City and its school kids deserve better.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/28/2273521/-The-Adams-Scandal-Widens?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/