Prometheus 6

Y'all remember this story, don't you?

Official’s Ties to Contractor Are Scrutinized
By PHILIP SHENON

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 — The Justice Department is investigating ties between Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso R. Jackson and a friend of Mr. Jackson’s who was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by him for rebuilding work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, federal officials said Thursday.

The investigation, they said, centers in part on whether Mr. Jackson was fully truthful in Congressional testimony and in interviews with federal investigators when he said he had not steered housing contracts to friends and administration supporters.

Mr. Jackson was the subject of a similar investigation by the inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The inspector general found last year that Mr. Jackson had urged his staff to consider contractors’ political leanings when awarding contracts, though there was no proof that staff members had complied.

The new inquiry was first reported by The National Journal magazine, which identified Mr. Jackson’s friend as William Hairston and said he had been paid more than $485,000 for his work in New Orleans on behalf of the housing department. The magazine said Mr. Jackson and Mr. Hairston were golfing partners in Hilton Head Island, S.C., where Mr. Hairston lives.

Mr. Jackson’s spokesmen at the housing department refused to answer detailed questions about the inquiry but released a statement from the secretary saying, “My commitment to helping the American people find decent, safe and affordable housing is unwavering, and I intend to fully cooperate with any possible investigation and to clear my name."

Mr. Hairston, who is identified in documents issued by the New Orleans Housing Authority as a consultant to the authority, did not return phone messages left at his home.