Inquirer Editorial: Costly behavior

Carl Greene's troubled tenure as CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority is the gift that keeps on giving.

Acting PHA commissioner Estelle Richman was expected to consider a proposal Friday that offers $500,000 to settle a fourth sexual harassment suit arising from Greene's alleged behavior. If it's approved, the bill for Greene's harassment cases will reach $1.2 million.

The proposed settlement with Elizabeth Helm, who complained of a series of unwanted advances by Greene, will be twice what she was offered a year ago, provided she kept quiet about the deal.

At least she did the public one favor by spurning the PHA's offer last August to settle for less. Greene was still in charge then, and still trying to conceal other harassment settlements.

But the PHA's new management has brought this settlement out in the open, where it belongs. When public money is being spent to settle a legal claim, the public has the right to know about it.

That's not just good policy, it's also state law. The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association points out that the state's open-records law clearly states that lawsuit settlements by public agencies are public documents, which should be available to the public.

So, although secretive government officials like Greene might try to entice a victim into staying mum, a gag order about a lawsuit settlement is just not legally enforceable. Makes you wonder about the legal advice Greene was getting from all those high-priced lawyers he hired.