H.U.D. scandal (it's like deja vu all over again)

[underpants]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/03/AR2008020303107.html

Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson demanded that the Philadelphia Housing Authority transfer a $2 million public property to a developer at a substantial discount, then retaliated against the housing authority when it refused to do so, a recent court filing alleges.

The authority's director, Carl Greene, contends in a court affidavit that Jackson called Philadelphia's mayor in 2006 to demand the transfer to the developer, Kenny Gamble, a former soul-music songwriter who is a business friend of Jackson's. Jackson's aides followed up with "menacing" threats about the property and other housing programs in at least a dozen letters and phone calls over an 11-month period, Greene said in an interview.

Greene and his colleagues have alleged in the court filing that Philadelphia is now paying a severe price for disobeying a Bush Cabinet official. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently vowed to strip the city's housing authority of its ability to spend some federal funds, a move that the authority said could raise rents for most of its 84,000 low-income tenants and force the layoffs of 250 people.

At the heart of the matter is a dispute over the contract performance of Gamble, a local music legend who helped write such famous 1970s soul tunes as "Love Train" and "Me and Mrs. Jones" before founding a real estate firm to redevelop the downtrodden city neighborhoods where he spent his youth. In 2000, he spoke about self-reliance at the Republican National Convention. He has not contributed to the Republican Party, but he and his company have donated regularly to the state's GOP senator, Arlen Specter, records show.

Jackson, a longtime friend of President Bush, is under investigation by HUD's inspector general and the Justice Department for other alleged acts of favoritism and interference. Jackson's office last week said in a written statement that he could not comment on Greene's allegations because they are a subject of litigation.

According to people familiar with the existing probes of Jackson, investigators are scrutinizing whether he interfered in the operations of housing authorities in New Orleans and the Virgin Islands by helping steer no-bid and inflated contracts to friends, and whether he lied when he told authorities he had not.

Investigators are also examining Jackson's alleged role in arranging a New Orleans Housing Authority contract for a contractor and occasional golfing buddy who allegedly did repairs and remodeling on the secretary's South Carolina vacation home, according to two sources familiar with the probe. Details of these probes were previously reported by the National Journal.