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Fifth woman files complaint against Greene

A fifth woman has come forward to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission against former Philadelphia Housing Authority Executive Director Carl R. Greene.

A fifth woman has come forward to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission against former Philadelphia Housing Authority Executive Director Carl R. Greene.

The complaint, filed Sept. 20 by a 26-year-old engineer, alleges sex discrimination by Greene.

Unlike the four other PHA employees to lodge complaints against Greene with the PHRC since 2004, the woman does not claim that Greene made unwanted sexual advances.

Instead, the woman, who spoke on the condition she not be identified, said her fast-track career was derailed when Greene learned that she was dating another employee, who later became her husband.

The complaint is not public, but a spokeswoman for the Human Relations Commission, Shannon Powers, confirmed its filing. She said it would automatically be submitted to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The woman, who started at PHA in 2006 as a technical aide, worked closely with Greene and said she got a quick promotion and raise. She said her career took a turn for the worse when Greene discovered that she had a boyfriend.

"That angered Carl Greene," the woman said.

She said that in 2008, she was transferred from an office position to working at housing projects. She eventually was assigned to a job running a maintenance program, a position that required longer hours and weekends.

"I absolutely believe it was punishment for dating someone who worked there," she said.

Greene was fired by PHA's board last Thursday after an investigation led by Chairman John F. Street found him to be a "serial sexual harasser."

In addition to the five women who have filed formal complaints, two other female PHA employees complained about Greene to the agency's human resources office but were told they did not have cases. Three others have complained informally to Street.

Clifford E. Haines, an attorney for Greene, had no comment on the new complaint. But in a letter Tuesday to Mayor Nutter, Philadelphia Controller Alan Butkovitz, members of City Council, and 34 Philadelphia members of the Pennsylvania legislature, Haines said Greene learned of his firing only through the media.

Haines said the termination was in "flagrant violation" of Greene's employment contract and violated his right to due process. "It is clearly part of the delusional grandstanding of the Board's Chair, John F. Street."

Haines urged lawmakers to intervene.

"PHA did not follow any established grievance process, and there is no formal procedure to appeal the Board's action," Haines wrote. "In order to avoid the consequences of the Board's misconduct, I urge you to intervene and provide relief as quickly as possible. The PHA Board is a product of the General Assembly; surely you have the power to rectify this wrong."

But one of the recipients of the letter, Councilman Bill Green, said that it was "untenable to keep Carl Greene in his position," and that the tone of Haines' letter was inappropriate in its harsh comments about Street.

"I'm glad the board took the action the board took," he said. "We have to restore the public's trust and confidence in that organization."

Green said Nutter "wasn't willing to step up, so the board was forced to" act.

Nutter has no power to fire the PHA executive director. He has faulted the board for failing to hold Greene accountable and called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to audit PHA, which HUD is now doing. Nutter spokesman Maura Kennedy said only that Haines "very aggressively is advocating for his client."

The U.S. attorney and FBI are also well into a criminal probe of the agency.

With Greene's departure, the five-member board must find an interim director to run the nation's fourth-largest housing authority, which has a budget of $392 million.

But that task is complicated by the open political feud between Nutter and his predecessor at City Hall, Street. Unlike most mayors of large cities, Nutter has limited influence over the Housing Authority. He only gets to name two of the board's five members - and, because of staggered terms, won't get to name his second pick until next year.

HUD, meanwhile, is stepping into the fray. The agency has come up with its own short list of candidates to temporarily take over PHA and plans to press those names with Nutter and Street this week, according to a senior HUD official.

According to people familiar with HUD's position, the department wants someone who is politically neutral, is not connected to PHA, and has experience running a large public housing agency at a time when investigators from both the U.S. Attorney's Office and HUD are scrutinizing its operations.

"The people we would recommend would know how to handle that kind of dicey situation," the official said. She would not disclose the names on the list, but said "these are a set of people who are known to us."