By Kevin Coughlin
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed numerous documents from the Morristown Housing Authority, in what appears to be a widening probe of the embattled agency.
“It continues to grow,” MHA Chairman Michael Cherello said of the investigation by special agents from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Cherello confirmed that two grand jury subpoenas have been issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark for the HUD Office of the Inspector General.
“I’ve seen the subpoenas. They’re real. It’s not a witch hunt,” he said.
Another subpoena has been served at town hall, according to several sources, although the details are not clear.
Mayor Tim Dougherty said he was not served, and referred questions to town Attorney Vij Pawar.
“We did not get a subpoena related to the housing authority,” Pawar said. Asked what the subpoena was related to, the attorney replied: “I can’t talk about that.”
Meanwhile, in an apparent reversal following weeks of local inquiries, the state Department of Community Affairs has ruled that former MHA Commissioner Mary Dougherty –who stepped down in October over questions about her qualifications — actually was qualified to continue serving in the unpaid position.
And the MHA’s executive director has asked the town council to remove Mary Dougherty’s accuser, Commissioner Dorothy Holman, citing an alleged altercation in September and drug convictions dating back more than two decades, MorristownGreen.com has learned.
SUBPOENAS
Funded by HUD, the Morristown Housing Authority manages 470 apartments (270 for seniors, 200 for families) and 184 Section 8 vouchers that help people with rent payments.
At an explosive housing authority meeting in September, Roy Rogers, who was hired as the MHA executive director in February, revealed that HUD was investigating concerns he had raised.
He later told the town council–which appoints five of seven commissioners–that those concerns centered on federal Section 8 housing subsidies. Specifically, whether people have bypassed a list that has been closed since 2003 to obtain rental assistance.
Spokespersons for HUD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have declined to confirm or deny an investigation of the Morristown Housing Authority. Rogers declined to discuss the subpoenas, citing the investigation.
But Morristown Green has learned that investigators requested the following information in October:
- Employment files.
- Banking information for several employees.
- Information pertaining to any MHA employees living in Section 8 housing.
- Records, documents and brochures from training sessions in Martha’s Vineyard; Clearwater, FL; and San Francisco.
- Copies of all MHA checks to commissioners.
Another subpoena delivered this month requests electronic correspondence related to employees dating to 2011, and all Section 8 and Public Housing waiting lists from 2003 to now.
At the September housing authority meeting, Rogers had questioned overtime and bidding practices, unfilled apartments, and $33,000 in travel expenses to out-of-state conferences by Commissioners Holman, Vera White and Marion Sally, the authority’s former executive director.
That night, in a close vote, the commissioners voted to prohibit such trips. Holman subsequently attended a conference in Los Angeles.
“Every trip we took, he [Rogers] approved. He put his credit card up there” to reserve all travel arrangements, Holman said this week.
STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL
All of this has been playing out amidst a battle for control of the commission — and the votes to keep pushing for reforms or send Rogers packing.
Underscoring the small-town nature of Morristown politics, this struggle has raised sticky conflicts for several of the players.
It has thrust Mayor Tim Dougherty smack in between his wife, Mary Dougherty — who was a swing vote for MHA Director Rogers — and Dorothy Holman and Vera White, two key mayoral supporters in Morristown’s African American community.
It’s also tested allegiances of Council Vice President Toshiba Foster, who is Commissioner Holman’s daughter.
Holman heatedly demanded Mary Dougherty’s resignation in September (watch the video), contending Dougherty had not completed five training sessions within 18 months, as mandated by the state.
When the meeting went into closed session, Holman lunged at Mary Dougherty, according to a police report that Mary Dougherty filed. Commissioner Frank Vitolo came to Dougherty’s defense, stepping between the women, the report said.
“I’m not even discussing that. It was a bunch of lies,” Holman said this week.
(If the police report is accurate, the incident shows bipartisan cooperation: Vitolo, the town’s Republican chairman, came to the rescue of Dougherty, who heads the local Democratic organization.)
Mary Dougherty maintained she took longer than 18 months to complete her training courses because her tenure spanned two appointments — an interim seat, and then a full term. She said four certifications affirmed her training was in order.
But she resigned in October, saying that MHA attorney Joseph Manfredi informed her that the state Department of Community Affairs deemed her ineligible to serve. There were worries that her continued service would invalidate her votes on the authority, she said.
Manfredi, citing attorney-client privilege, declined to discuss who at DCA told him Mary Dougherty was not qualified. Several requests from Morristown Green for an explanation so far have not been answered by the DCA.
Rogers also pressed the DCA for written clarification. Last week he finally got it:
“After reviewing and considering the unique facts and circumstances of this matter, we have determined that Ms. Dougherty sufficiently fulfilled the course of study requirements and that she is eligible for reappointment as a member of the Morristown Housing Authority Board of Commissioners,” wrote Janel Winter, director of housing and community resources at the DCA.
“I knew it all the time,” Mary Dougherty said. “The letter confirms what I’ve understood the whole time I’ve served.”
‘EVERYONE HAS A PAST’
Seniors housing resident Teresa Rodriguez was appointed by the town council this month to replace Mary Dougherty on the housing authority.
Still pending is Roy Rogers’ request for Dorothy Holman’s removal.
“Given the assault by Ms. Holman upon Mrs. Dougherty, I have no choice but to now have a Morristown Police Officer present at all future Board meetings,” Rogers wrote to the council on Nov. 24, 2015.
Citing Holman’s criminal record, Rogers expressed concerns about how that reflects on the authority and the town council.
Holman pled guilty to a cocaine charge in 1989, was arrested twice while on probation, and briefly served jail time.
In 1993, while living in Morristown public housing, she pled guilty to possession, distribution, manufacturing and dispensing cocaine, and was sentenced to 45 days in the Morris County Jail, Rogers told the council.
“The MHA Board of Commissioners oversees all of the MHA functions including overseeing compliance with HUD mandates,” Rogers wrote.
“It is near incomprehensible for me to report to HUD and the Public that the MHA has a Commissioner, with two felony criminal convictions for drug sales… At the same time employees, with direction from the Board of Commissioners are enforcing a HUD mandate and rejecting applicants for housing benefits based on lesser drug offenses.”
Holman said her offenses are ancient history.
“My past has nothing to do with what I do today,” she said. “I don’t live in public housing. I’m talking about my life today. My past is my past… I know how I live today, and how I’ve been living my life.
“Everybody has a past… It was 30 years ago,” Holman said.
‘GETTING UP TO SNUFF’
New Jersey’s Administrative Code requires criminal background checks for employees of local housing authorities, but not for commissioners, said Olga Alvarez, a HUD spokeswoman.
Another HUD spokesman, Charles McNally, said he is unaware of any federal rules that would bar service on a housing authority because of prior criminal convictions.
Rules pertaining to residents of public housing have been much stricter. Housing authorities until recently have had power to deny housing to anyone who has merely been arrested, McNally said.
That power was rescinded in a November HUD directive aimed at helping ex-convicts transition back to society, the spokesman said.
Authorities must deny public housing to anyone on a lifetime state sex offenders registry, or to anyone convicted of producing methamphetamine, McNally said.
Rogers said he stood by his November letter, but declined to discuss it further.
The council will have two new members when it resumes deliberations on Rogers’ request.
“I’m confident the 2016 members of the town council will act in the best interest of all the residents of public housing, to make sure the housing authority board is a professional and well functioning body,” said Council President Rebecca Feldman, who is stepping down.
Michael Cherello, newly reappointed to the housing authority, said Morristown is grappling with federal cutbacks that are challenging public housing across the country. He is anxious to see the investigation through, he said, so commissioners can return their focus where it belongs: Helping residents.
“Our senior building needs a lot of work,” Cherello said. “Mr. Rogers already has been able to get a $250,000 grant for surveillance cameras at Manahan Village. Once this is all over with and we get back to regular business, we will start working on our buildings and properties and get them up to snuff.”
Another good report, kevin