Apr 11, 2008 1:11 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: You Paid For It
Reporting
Jim Osman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
The CBS 3 I-Team wanted to know whether current Housing Authority Commission Chairman and former Philadelphia Mayor John Street would take any action at the Housing Authority's Commission first public meeting one week after our original investigation aired.
"I haven't seen the report, but I've heard about the report and the things I heard about the report I did not like and you will hear from the board about the report.", said Former Philadelphia Mayor John Street who is the current chairman of the PHA.
His dislike is aimed not at the spending but at the report itself because Street was briefed on our investigation by Carl Greene - the focus of our original investigation.
It's the very same Carl Greene who spent $3600 in tax dollars for at the Waldorf Astoria just before he laid off 350 workers
And the same Carl Greene who spent $2100 at the ritz carlton in march 2007 just after those layoffs and whose authority racked up $165,500 in travel expenses since 2004.
Zach Stalberg head of the public advocacy group Committee of 70 says Greene has made improvements in public housing.
"But he also has a reputation as a guy who does what he feels like doing who's imperious. So it's not out of character.", said stalberg.
Stalberg says the symbol of the housing authority's excess: Those two $2900 plane tickets to fly from Philadelphia to Las Vegas we exposed in our original investigation.
And the lavish spending outrages public housing residents who say at the same time their numerous complaints about building disrepairs are dismissed.
"I'm just shocked and appalled the Housing Authority won't lift a finger to do anything.", said one PHA resident.
The Housing Authority two weeks after our investigation agreed to do a sit down interview claiming it would changes its ways but abruptly cancelled the interview an hour before it was supposed to happen.
Three weeks after former Mayor Street told CBS 3 we would hear from him about our report the I-Team hadn't heard from Street and the I-Team's calls weren't returned.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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