Detroit woman sued Greene in 1998 for sex harassment

The woman who filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Carl R. Greene in 1998 when he ran the Detroit Housing Commission reacted bitterly Wednesday to the disclosure of new allegations against her former boss.

"They shouldn't be surprised, but nobody listened and they still hired him anyway, so that's what they get," said Gertrude Faye Johnson, a former auditor at the Detroit agency. She was referring to the Philadelphia Housing Authority's decision to hire Greene despite knowing of her 1998 lawsuit.

Before his arrival in Philadelphia, Greene secured a three-year contract that said he would receive his PHA salary without regard to the outcome of that lawsuit.

The case was settled out of court in January 2000, though Johnson said she was not happy with the outcome. "Absolutely not," Johnson said. "And I never will be, because I don't think anyone took it seriously."

Johnson, 53, who now lives in Palm Beach County, Fla., was reluctant to discuss details of the incident. "I don't know why you guys want me to relive this," she said.

In the Michigan court filings, she accused Greene of kissing, touching, and fondling her, and promising her a promotion if she "submitted to his demands."

Then-Mayor Edward G. Rendell sent two people to Detroit to interview Greene's staff.

They spoke with 16 employees, most of them women, and issued a report saying staff members said Greene behaved professionally.

Johnson, who works from her home, said her lawyer prevented her from discussing the incident with the Philadelphia delegation.

"I was not allowed to discuss it at that time because it was a suit, so anything that was said was through my attorney," she said.

She said Greene never apologized to her and added, "I'm sure he has not changed, and it won't be no different. Someone will hire him again, and more people will get victimized."

Greene faced two other lawsuits in Detroit. One claimed he "required" a manager to donate to the United Negro College Fund and to volunteer at political rallies and city events. The other said he ignored complaints that one employee was sexually harassing another. That incident involved two men. The outcomes could not immediately be determined.