Karen Heller: Fawning followers abet Greene's rotten reign at the PHA

Curb appeal, that's what helps sell a home. Curb appeal is what's helped sell Carl Greene, the entrenched, now embattled, pasha of public housing to patrons, the community, and journalists.

People criticize Greene's lofty compensation package - $306,370 in salary plus a $44,188 bonus, when the U.S. secretary of housing and urban development makes $200,000. They question his behavior, including allegations of sexually harassing employees or soliciting hefty contributions from vendors for a dubious charity. But any time someone brings these matters up, boosters counter with a list of his accomplishments.

This is the same Greene who spent $1 million in two years on seven outside public relations experts, even though the agency had an in-house spokesman. When I inquired this month about his latest 15 percent raise and bonus, the spokesman's response was amended with a 14-point list of achievements.

Which reminds me of the Emerson quotation, "The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."

What is forgotten is that Greene's agency, funded by your tax dollars, serves the city's poor while he is paid like a prince.

"Carl Greene would be considered the best housing authority director" in the nation, Gov. Rendell said Thursday. As mayor, he hired Greene in 1998 from Detroit.

Greene was facing a harassment suit then, as he's facing accusations now. "Those were serious, as all sexual-harassment charges are, but I did not think serious enough to warrant dismissal," the governor added. He praised Greene, saying he "has done more to improve the lives of poor Philadelphians, more than anyone I know. He's done a stunningly spectacular job."

It is entirely possible that Greene provided improved housing for Philadelphia's poor and proved a troubling manager, an autocrat ruling through fear and intimidation. He routinely fired officials who questioned his actions while exhibiting a preference for expensive spending practices that were self-serving and didn't aid the community he serves.

"People with bloody daggers are doing whatever they can to finish me off," Greene told The Inquirer's Jennifer Lin on Friday. He said his recent experiences had left him "more humble about the fragility of what it means to be human and the suffering of others."