Not long after the Philadelphia Housing Authority refused to transfer vacant land to Jackson's friend, music industry mogul Kenny Gamble, HUD moved to cut off $50 million from PHA.

PHA Director Carl Greene says in a lawsuit that HUD was being vindictive. HUD denies it. But now a damning e-mail exchange between two Jackson underlings has surfaced, suggesting they tried to punish PHA.

The two political appointees at HUD discussed problems at PHA and debated how they could make Greene squeal.

"Would you like me to make his life less happy? If so, how?" asked HUD then-Assistant Secretary Orlando Cabrera.

"Take away his federal dollars? :-D," answered his colleague, Kim Kendrick.

"Let me look into that possibility," Cabrera replied.

The ":-D" is the symbol for a smiley face. Hilarious, isn't it?

That exchange took place Jan. 12, 2007. The same day, HUD notified PHA that it violated rules on disability housing. That action led to HUD's threat to take away $50 million from the city agency. As Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) told Jackson in a hearing last week, "That kind of timing is very, very forceful evidence."

Jackson contends that the e-mails were evidence only of the frustration in his department about PHA's alleged failure to provide enough housing units to people with disabilities. But the secretary's memory gets hazy when asked if he ever tried to throw his weight around on behalf of Gamble.

The record seems clear that he did. In 2006, after Gamble complained to Jackson that PHA wouldn't turn over the land to him, Jackson asked then-Mayor John Street to intervene. Greene still refused to transfer the land, arguing that Gamble and his partners failed to deliver on promises in connection with city contracts to build below-market housing units.

The animosity between Greene and HUD officials isn't beneficial for low-income city residents, who need more public housing units, not fewer.

Specter and Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) are vowing to get more answers from Jackson. They should turn up the heat on HUD. The deadline for the loss of PHA's funds is at the end of this month.

People who depend on public housing shouldn't become the victims in a dispute over cronies in high places.