Whistleblower’s Complaints Grow in Providence Housing Scandal
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Providence Housing Authority (PHA) whistleblower whose complaint against executive director Stephen O’Rourke is being reviewed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the state police and the PHA’s Board of Commissioners now claims the agency has been handing out no-bid contracts and misappropriating Section 8 funds.
A copy of PHA’s executive administrative officer Elizabeth Herosy’s staff and board meeting notes from the past year obtained by GoLocalProv suggests that on more than one occasion, O’Rourke instructed contractors to bill the agency for less than $2,000 at a time in an attempt to circumvent bidding regulations while also using Section 8 funds to pay for employees who don’t work in the Section 8 department and for renovations that should have come from other funds.
Last month, Herosy sent a 37 page complaint that includes allegations of “serious misconduct, fraud and perhaps criminal activity” as well as sexual harassment by O’Rourke to the Mayor’s office and various agencies, including the Attorney General’s office, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Labor and Training.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTNo-Bid Contracts/Misappropriation of Funds
Herosy’s notes include multiple accounts of alleged no-bid contracts being handed out for projects at numerous city locations, including Codding Court and Manton Heights. She also claims that a $30,000 no-bid contract was awarded to the Brewster Thornton Architect Group for additional work at Manton Heights on the city’s West Side.
Herosy highlights specific incidents where no-bid contracts were awarded or funds were misappropriated:
January 2012:
“The site sign and kiosks for Codding Court and Manton Heights have been installed by the Landscaping Team; a site sign for Sunset Village has been ordered (The contract for these signs was not bid and they are being delivered one at a time, each for less than $2,000, to circumvent the bidding regulations).”
November 2011:
“The last phase of the modernization project for Section 8 and Resident Selection offices at Dexter is 99% complete; these upgrades are being performed by PHA Carpenters and a Private Contractor (The contract for this these renovations was not bid and the contractor was instructed to bill in multiple bills, each for less than $2,000, to circumvent the bidding regulations. These renovations were paid with Section 8 funds despite the fact that they are capital improvements and should have been paid with those funds).”
August 2011:
“Modernization project for Administration and the Reception area has been complete; construction for Sec. 8 and Resident Selection will be starting soon (The contract for this these renovations was not bid and the contractor was instructed to bill in multiple bills, each for less than $2,000, to circumvent the bidding regulations. These renovations were paid with Section 8 funds). A site sign for Chad Brown has been picked up and will be installed shortly (The contract for these signs was not bid and they are being delivered one at a time, each for less than $2,000, to circumvent the bidding regulations).”
February 2011:
“The accounting department renovations are complete, and the work in special projects will begin next. The project should be close to completion in two months (The contract for this these renovations was not bid and the contractor was instructed to bill in multiple bills, each for less than $2,000, to circumvent the bidding regulations. These renovations were paid with Section 8 funds).”
Poor Working Conditions
Because of an ongoing internal investigation related to Herosy’s claims, O’Rourke has said he cannot comment other than to say the accusations are “preposterous.”
Herosy originally complained that her five-year tenure at the PHA has been marred by “hostile, offensive and extremely stressful” working conditions. She has accused O’Rourke of “gross misconduct” including sexual and other types of harassment as well as discrimination.
“I have been discriminated against and I feel intimidated in this workplace, and have been denied wage increases, promotions for which I have been imminently qualified, access to apply for any promotions for which I have been qualified, pay and benefits that others receive, compensation for hours that I have been forced to work as ordered by the executive director, access to education and training programs, morning and afternoon coffee breaks and normal lunch breaks,” Herosy claims.
Herosy also claims nearly a dozen staffers close to O’Rourke regularly fudge their timesheets to suggest they are working when they are really taking long lunches, arriving for work late and leaving early. She said the amount of fraud has “risen to the level of criminality.”
“It is appalling to me as a public servant that almost every Friday afternoon without fail he takes his clique to two and a half to three hour lunches, and returns to work with them after drinking liquor,” Herosy claims. Then they leave early and go with him to the Fabre Line club or drinks. However, the timesheets regularly signed by the employee and Mr. O’Rourke show them working and being compensated for a full day.”
Review Ongoing
On Wednesday, Herosy said she has received an outpouring of support from current and former PHA employees. She said she hopes an audit will be launched soon because, “although we understand that the federal, state police, and city investigations need to move at their own pace, all the employees I have talked with are hoping that someone will come through the door soon to look at contracts and do an audit, because we believe that data is being altered, added and removed.”
HUD spokesman Jerry Brown indicated last week that an “extensive” review of Herosy’s complaint is already underway.
“The allegations are both distasteful and disturbing and our normal process would be to go through and see if we could verify them,” he said
If you valued this article, please LIKE GoLocalProv.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.
