HUD investigates ex-Michigan housing chief over misuse of funds

A political scandal is brewing over $1 million in government funds paid to the former chief's real estate company.

A political scandal is brewing over the misuse of $1 million in government funds to a private real estate company.
 
The Office of Inspector General of HUD is investigating a complaint filed by the Michigan Democrats that alleges a potential conflict of interest or misuse of federal funds by the previous head of Michigan’s housing agency.
 
News of the probe comes two months after Scott Woosley stepped down as housing chief in response to a state Democratic Party public records request that showed he stayed in pricey hotels and expensed large dinner bills.
 
The compliant also said Woosley’s private real estate investment company, Labor-Management Fund Advisors, was continuing to get paid by the state housing authority while he served as agency director, according to The Detroit News.
 
The Detroit newspaper also reported that records showed Labor-Management received more than $1 million from a $98 million HUD grant the Michigan State Housing Development Authority received in 2008 for its Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
 
Woosley previously said he continued to share in profits of Labor-Management Fund Advisors while collecting a $135,000-a-year paycheck.
 
The Democratic Party requested the federal probe on Sept. 18, and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority confirmed Sunday that HUD has launched an investigation into the complaint.