W-b Administrator A Witness For Leighton, Says Source 
Wilkes-barre City Councilman Tom Leighton Hedges When Asked Whether He Has A 
Witness.

Agnes Harvey 
February 3, 1997 
Agnes L. Harvey, 84, Of The Star Hill Rest Home, Beaumont, Where She Was A 
Guest For The Past Year, Formerly Of Noxen, Died Monday At The Home.

By DAVE JANOSKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, February 06, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





KINGSTON -- The Luzerne County Housing Authority should repay up to
$235,000 in federal money it improperly spent on police protection, charitable
donations and trips to Florida and Las Vegas for authority board members,
according to an audit report. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development audit also questioned
the authority's record-keeping of meetings held in local restaurants, with the
authority picking up the tab. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Authority Executive Director David Fagula said he will meet with HUD
officials to discuss the audit of the authority's spending between January
1994 and April 1996. The authority has 60 days to reply to the findings in the
report, which was issued on Jan. 30. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I expect a quick resolution to these findings," Fagula said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The bulk of the spending in question, $214,032, was paid to nine local
police departments to increase police presence in the authority's housing
developments. Authority officials and federal auditors disagree on whether the
authority properly documented the services those departments provided to the
developments before the grants were awarded. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The fact that the (authority) did not conduct a review of any police
department records is the premise behind this finding," said the HUD report,
in calling for reimbursement of the grants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Fagula, in a written response to HUD, said the nine departments did
nothing beyond answering calls at authority properties and passing through on
routine patrols before the grants were awarded. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We are hard pressed to document something that did not exist," Fagula
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fagula said he hoped HUD and the authority, which spent $50 million on
low-income housing programs in the last three years, could settle the police
grant matter. The departments involved are Newport Township, Luzerne, Exeter,
Hanover Township, Swoyersville, Plains Township, Fairview Township, Kingston
Township and Plymouth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fagula said the authority might simply repay all of the remaining $19,968
in questionable expenditures with earnings from programs that are not
federally subsidized. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The $19,968 was spent in the following manner, according to HUD: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Travel Expenses &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The authority paid $3,949 in ineligible travel expenses for trips that
board members Jerry Bonner, James Burns and Robert Gelb took to housing
conferences in Orlando, Fla. and Las Vegas in 1995 and 1996. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Auditors say the authority reimbursed board members for hotel and car
rental bills incurred after the conferences were over. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fagula, while acknowledging some errors in travel reimbursements, said
that, in some cases, the authority saved on airfares by approving longer stays
and rented cars at a weekly rate that was cheaper than the daily rate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The authority spent $22,957 in travel in the 28-month period covered by the
audit, Fagula said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The audit report noted that such trips are allowed under federal rules.
"However, each trip should be cost effective and should not be viewed as all
expense paid vacations (sic)." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The audit also criticized the authority for buying two $566 airline tickets
so that board members' spouses could accompany them to a conference in Las
Vegas in April 1994. One board member took four months to reimburse the
authority. The other took 10 months. The board members were not named in the
report. The authority has agreed not to purchase tickets for spouses in the
future. The five authority board members, who are not paid, are appointed by
the county commissioners. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The audit also criticized the authority for lax record-keeping of travel
expenses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Charitable Donations &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The authority donated $10,955 to local organizations, including the Boy
Scouts, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the YMCA Wilkes-Barre. The HUD audit said
the authority did not establish how those donations helped it meet its
responsibility to provide housing for low-income residents. The authority has
already agreed to reimburse the federal government for many of the donations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But in his written response to the audit, Fagula argued the "donations have
served to cement partnerships, enhance our image and serve our clients and
residents." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Included in the questionable donations was $3,000 spent on charity golf
tournaments in which Fagula and unnamed board members played, the audit said.
One of those tournaments benefited the Catherine McAuley House in Plymouth,
which provides emergency housing for women and children. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In his written response, Fagula said the authority has no emergency shelter
and regularly refers clients to the McAuley House. When asked why he and the
board members did not pay their own fees to golf in the tournaments, Fagula
replied: "I don't have any other comment than what is in my written response." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Other Costs &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The audit report ruled that $3,218 spent on coffee and milk for the
authority staff, $77 for a sign at a non-federal project and $1,769 spent on
office decorations, flowers and fruit should be reimbursed to the federal
government. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fagula's written response said the flowers and decorations were to beautify
the authority's buildings and the $35 fruit basket was sent to the family of a
deceased employee. The authority has agreed to reimburse the money spent on
the milk, coffee and sign. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Free Meals &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The audit report does not question the spending of authority money to feed
board members during meetings and business luncheons. But it criticizes the
board for not providing minutes of business lunches that were paid for with
federal funds. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The report does not include the cost of those meals, but Fagula estimated
it was about $1,000 during the 28-month period covered by the audit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said the authority often purchased sandwiches for board members
attending noon meetings at the authority's headquarters. He said the authority
also paid for some meetings in local restaurants that were attended by himself
and board members. When asked if those restaurant meetings violated the state
Sunshine Law, which requires public advertisements of board meetings, he
replied: "I don't think we ever got together with a quorum of the board." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The HUD audit of the authority began in April 1996. It was sparked by
Republicans' allegations in the 1995 elections that relatives and political
allies of Democratic Luzerne County Commissioner Frank Crossin had unfairly
profited from a federally funded program for first-time home buyers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 HUD found no deficiencies in that program, according to the audit report.
The report noted that "generally," the authority "effectively administered its
housing programs," before detailing the questionable spending. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fagula said HUD auditors "were taking an extremely strict view" of
allowable expenses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "These guys view the public housing program with blinders on." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Feds Rap County Board's Spending The Head Of The Luzerne County Housing Authority Will Meet With Federal Officials About The 1994-1996 Audit