Tracking the $700,000 PHA paid to lobbyist

The Philadelphia Housing Authority paid at least $700,000 to a Washington lobbyist, channeling much of the money through the law firm Ballard, Spahr L.L.C., while repeatedly telling federal officials it wasn't engaged in lobbying, records show.

The payments - a $10,000-a-month retainer - went to American Continental Group, whose president is David J. Urban, a former chief of staff for then-Sen. Arlen Specter.

In an interview, Urban described his job as primarily "telling the story" of PHA and its executive director Carl R. Greene to Congress.

"I dealt with Carl on more than a daily basis," Urban said.

As a federally funded agency, PHA is prohibited from using federal money to pay lobbyists. Lobbying isn't outright barred if the housing agency used nonfederal funds to pay for it and disclosed the lobbying arrangements to HUD.

Documents obtained by The Inquirer show that, from 2005 until 2010, Greene signed annual "Disclosure of Lobbying Activities" forms that omitted any mention of Urban or American Continental.

The failure to disclose lobbying activities - no matter what the source of funding - can be punished with fines of up to $100,000 for each incident, HUD warns on the document.

"If you didn't declare it, it's falsifying a federal form," said Jereon Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "It's against the law."

Greene also signed a separate "Certifications of Payment to Influence Federal Transactions" with HUD, vouching for his compliance with filing rules and swearing that federal dollars were not used to pay a lobbyist.

According to that document, "HUD will prosecute false claims and statements. Conviction may result in criminal and/or civil penalties."

Greene's attorney, Clifford Haines, who was provided with copies of the documents Greene signed, did not respond to requests for comment. Greene was fired in September 2010 after secretly settling sexual-harassment complaints against him for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Ballard lawyers, including one of the main attorneys working on PHA matters, Sharon Geno, were called for comment, but none responded.

Urban said he and his firm take compliance obligations "very seriously."