In Philadelphia Housing Authority, Tale of Lawyer Overload

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

In late 2009, a federal auditor drove around Philadelphia to inspect 67 homes occupied by low-income families receiving Section 8 housing subsidies through the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

He took along an appraiser.

To escort them, PHA dispatched an employee and Section 8 expert - plus three outside attorneys who charged $330 an hour, or about $8,000 a day.

For up to eight hours a day over two weeks, the entourage traipsed through homes, often getting in the way of families, never asking a question but sometimes taking notes.

This was the way PHA operated during the 13-year reign of Carl R. Greene, ousted last September as executive director. It was a fortress, guarded by battalions of outside lawyers who earned "outrageous fees," according to the acting inspector general of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Michael P. Stephens.

What a scam.