Providence Housing Scandal: City Officials Discuss Director’s Fate
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Hours after another meeting with federal investigators Tuesday, longtime Providence Housing Authority (PHA) executive director Stephen O’Rourke said he does not intend to resign from his post ahead of a special meeting with the agency’s board of commissioners set to take place this evening.
In a brief interview at City Hall, the 25-year veteran said he has not been asked to step down by Mayor Angel Taveras or City Council President Michael Solomon and blamed the damning allegations of sexual harassment and financial mismanagement on “disgruntled employees.”
“I’m hurt by this,” O’Rourke said. “Sean [Pope] was a good friend until he was reprimanded. People keep saying to me, ‘after all you did for that guy.’”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPope, a landscape architect currently on temporary disability, became the second PHA employee to claim he witnessed O’Rourke commit sexual harassment in the workplace, alleging O’Rourke once bent his girlfriend and future wife over a desk in an inappropriate manner.
In the process, Pope corroborated many of the claims made by whistleblower Elizabeth Herosy, who filed a 37-page complaint late last month claiming her five-year tenure at the agency has been marred by “hostile, offensive and extremely stressful” working conditions. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is currently investigating the claims.
“I'm shocked that it has taken this long,” Pope said Monday. “In all honesty, this is a guy who has been flirting with disaster for a long time. This is a bad guy. He really is a bad guy.”
Board Members Take Wait-and-See Approach
But several board members said they are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to O’Rourke and will likely make a decision on his fate after they learn more from the internal investigation currently underway.
The board is expected to immediately go into executive session Wednesday to discuss details of the investigation. City Councilman and board member Nick Narducci said the board will also agree to postpone a scheduled retreat set to take place in Cape Cod.
“I’ve known Stephen O’Rourke a long time,” Narducci said. “My conversation with him was to be open and honest. If the accusations are true, I’ll be the first one to ask for his resignation. I don’t want to happen [at PHA] like what happened at ProCAP.”
Councilman Kevin Jackson, a mayoral appointee to the board, said he is giving O’Rourke the benefit of the doubt for the time being.
“We’ve hired outside counsel and the feds have their investigation,” Jackson said. “Right now, I believe he’s innocent until proven guilty.”
Council finance chairman John Igliozzi, another board member, did not wish to comment, only saying, “I’m going to do whatever is best for the Providence Housing Authority.”
Taveras Returns Campaign Contributions
In additions to claiming she was sexually harassed, Herosy’s massive complaint alleges O’Rourke kept pornography on his work computer, handed out no-bid contracts and allowed favored employees to commit timesheet fraud that has “risen to the level of criminality.”
Herosy, who has filed for protection under the state’s whistleblower law, says she was also passed up for numerous promotions because she was not liked by O’Rourke.
“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,” she claims.
The Taveras administration again refused to comment Tuesday, but it is believed a third party has reached out to O’Rourke through the Mayor to encourage him to resign if the allegations are true.
Taveras has also taken steps to distance himself from O’Rourke. According to Josh Butera, Taveras’ campaign finance director, the Mayor has returned the $500 O’Rourke contributed to his campaign in November and December of last year.
“In order to avoid the appearance of impropriety we returned the contribution once the official inquiry began,” Butera said. “Contributions have already been returned.”
Council Members Speak Out
Councilman Sam Zurier said the agency’s board should take appropriate action if the investigation confirms Herosy or Pope’s complaints are true.
“The Providence Housing Authority’s board of directors has the responsibility of supervising the organization’s director,” Zurier said. “If the board concludes that the issues currently surrounding the director are affecting the well-being of the Authority, then the board has the fiduciary duty to take appropriate action.”
Councilman Michael Correia said he was surprised to hear Herosy’s original complaint and then shocked to learn that Pope backed up her claims in a GoLocalProv interview this week. He said O’Rourke should step down if the investigation finds any wrongdoing.
"I've know Stephen to be a strand up, quality guy and I was kind of shocked about these allegations,” Correia said. “Now I'm even more shocked and concerned with the report that another individual substantiated the complaint. If the allegations against him are proven to be true, I would expect him, just as I would anyone, to step down.
Correia continued: “Is it at the point now that maybe the board should ask him to step aside? Maybe."
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