Greene suit says PHA ruined reputation

Carl R. Greene, the embattled executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, filed suit Tuesday against the agency's board of directors, saying its members had "effectively terminated" him without due process. He is asking for damages that could exceed $600,000.

Greene's attorney would not put a precise figure on what he was seeking but said that his client's "reputation has been irreparably damaged" and that Greene was entitled to the "remaining terms" of his contract as executive director, which has two years to run. His salary last year was $306,370, and he received a $44,188 bonus.

"PHA is obligated to pay him or restore his job," said his lawyer, Clifford E. Haines.

Haines said Greene was dismayed by the public criticism voiced by board members, who voted unanimously Aug. 26 to suspend Greene for 30 days with pay pending an investigation into four sexual-harassment claims brought against him by PHA employees.

"I don't know that Carl Greene wants his job back, given what has been done to him," Haines said.

Reaction to Greene's lawsuit was immediate.

John M. Elliott, an attorney representing Elizabeth Helm, a 29-year-old interior designer who has accused Greene of sexual harassment, called the court action "the final outrageous act of a desperate man."

Elliott initially negotiated a tentative $250,000 settlement for Helm last month but now says he has seen no settlement papers and will not settle for less than $375,000. Helm alleges Greene touched, grabbed, and groped her during a business dinner to discuss a promotion.

"A court of law is the only place I know of where allegations of the kind alluded to here can be proven," Elliott said. ". . . I'd like to get Carl Greene under oath in court as soon as possible. It's absolutely incredible that someone who engages in a pattern of predatory sexual misconduct . . . would have the chutzpah to file that kind of lawsuit."

Haines filed Greene's lawsuit in U.S. District Court late Tuesday afternoon just before the clerk's office closed, leaving no time for reporters or PHA officials to obtain copies of the actual complaint.

PHA Board Chairman John F. Street, the former mayor, was teaching his regular class at Temple University Tuesday evening and had not seen the suit.

Other board members and Mayor Nutter did not immediately return calls for comment.

Haines was vehement in defense of his client, who has been receiving inpatient medical treatment since late August, when a string of reported controversies - a pending foreclosure on his home, an IRS lien for $52,000, and finally the disclosure of multiple allegations of sexual harassment - hit Greene like an avalanche in a matter of days.

In suspending Greene with pay, the PHA board described its internal inquiry as a way to provide him with due process. But Haines said that, as of Tuesday, no one had even contacted Greene for his version of events.

In the meantime, the U.S. Attorney's Office has launched a criminal investigation, and auditors from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have embarked upon a thoroughgoing review of PHA's books.

The PHA board is scheduled to meet Thursday and is expected to discuss the progress of its investigation. Haines said it was clear to him that board members had already made the decision to end Greene's 13-year career with PHA.

"They have constructively terminated Carl," he said. "I don't think there is a whole lot of dispute about that, in terms of the actions they have taken and the behavior they have demonstrated.

"They have violated his due-process rights, in addition to which he has a contract that has very explicit terms."

Greene's PHA contract says he can be fired for "cause," and not receive his remaining contractual pay, if "intentional misconduct" results in "demonstrable material injury and damage" to the agency.

The contract does not specifically cite sexual harassment as a reason for discharge. It is a complex document that attempts to detail under what circumstances Greene would, or would not, be entitled to receive at least two years' pay if terminated.

The leading public critic of Greene has been Street. While insisting Greene would get due process through a 30-day investigation, Street also expressed anger that the board never learned of four sexual-harassment complaints filed against Greene with the state Human Relations Commission since 2004.

In announcing Greene's suspension, Street said that Greene would lose his job if a single one of the harassment claims proved to be true.

Three of the claims have been settled out of court. The most recent, filed by Helm, is still pending, with Elliott awaiting receipt of settlement papers. All told, the cost of the four settlements could exceed $900,000.

Haines said that even if the board was sincere in its attempt to give Greene a fair hearing, that would be close to impossible.

"I don't care how well-intentioned Mr. Street is, he can't prove a claim of sex harassment. He just can't prove that," because confidentiality agreements in three cases prevent the allegations from being scrutinized.

Last week, Street said two other women had approached the board with accounts of inappropriate advances and attention from Greene, a disclosure that angered Haines.

Street has also questioned whether PHA rules were violated when two checks were used to pay a $200,000 settlement from a 2004 sexual-harassment case.

One from the insurer was for $101,000, and one from PHA was for $99,000, apparently an effort to stay below the $100,000 expenditure ceiling that would have required a board vote, Street said.

Haines said the disclosure "issue" did not involve only Greene but also the "PHA administration."

"There are lawyers involved in these transactions," said Haines. "To say it is Carl Greene and Carl Greene alone, that he controls everything, is a little excessive."

Mark J. Foley, a lawyer now with Cozen O'Connor, handled three of the cases while working at the now-defunct firm of Klett, Rooney, Lieber & Schorling.

Foley moved to Cozen in 2006 and continued to handle PHA cases. The head of that firm, Thomas "Tad" Decker, said Thursday that Cozen was fired from representing PHA after recommending that the board be informed of all issues related to a 2008 sexual-harassment complaint filed by a senior management specialist.

That case was settled for $350,000.