Two nonprofits are focus of PHA inquiry

The investigation into the Philadelphia Housing Authority is focusing in part on two nonprofits closely tied to Executive Director Carl R. Greene, according to new federal subpoenas.

One of the nonprofits, Tenant Support Services Inc. (TSSI), is run by a longtime ally of Greene who also serves on its board. The other, Philadelphia Asset & Property Management Corp., manages 1,600 public-housing units, and Greene serves as its executive director.

In the case of TSSI, led by longtime tenant activist Asia Coney, the subpoena served Sept. 9 seeks a variety of financial records and specifically cites "events honoring Carl Greene." The nonprofit has a $450,000-a-year contract with PHA; Coney, who lives in a public-housing unit, is paid $102,695 a year.

TSSI has been a focus of interest since Greene's troubles began to emerge last month, when tax problems with the IRS quickly led to revelations that the PHA had secretly settled harassment suits filed against its executive director.

In 2008, for example, contractors and outside attorneys were asked to contribute up to $5,000 to a party honoring Greene, according to a copy of the invitation. It instructed donors to write checks payable to TSSI.

Coney has not spoken to reporters, and efforts to reach her Friday were unsuccessful. Former Mayor John F. Street, chairman of the PHA board, also was not available for comment.

Meanwhile, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R., Iowa) issued a letter Friday criticizing the PHA and demanding answers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, said in his letter that his own office had been contacted by "several whistle-blowers."

Grassley noted that the PHA had received $127 million of federal stimulus funding. "The entire situation surrounding the Philadelphia PHA is disturbing, and it is becoming increasingly more apparent that transparency and accountability were not high," Grassley said in his letter, addressed to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

Grassley also said he wanted an explanation of why PHA had paid $33 million to outside legal firms since 2007, more than half of it to two firms, Ballard Spahr and the now-defunct WolfBlock L.L.P.