PHA board may pick fill-in chief

For 12 years in the 1980s and '90s, Goldsmith was a top executive at PNC Bank. He also served as director of communications for former Philadelphia Mayor Bill Green's 1979 campaign and once was an editorial writer for The Inquirer. He currently writes a column for the Philadelphia Daily News.

Blackwell said that, according to Street, hiring an interim executive director did not clash with HUD's directive not to make major personnel changes until it completed its investigation.

"He said he thought it was OK, and there would be no problem," she said.

HUD spokeswoman Donna M. White said only: "The audit has begun and we will not have any additional comments until the audit is completed."

With Greene's job on the line, observers of developments at PHA say whoever leads the agency in the future must have not only technical expertise in public housing and public finance, but also the ability to restore the agency's integrity.

Inquirer staff writers Jennifer Lin and Marcia Gelbart contributed to this article.