And You Thought the Pittsburgh Housing Authority Was Bad

Here's a little diddy about Alphonso Jackson:

Alphonso Jackson, the Bush administration's secretary of Housing and Urban Development who has drawn criticism from members of Congress for alleged cronyism and favoritism, is expected to announce his resignation Monday, according to a media report...

Jackson's problems stem from his refusal to answer questions about his role in a Philadelphia redevelopment deal, according to the report, which added that Philadelphia's housing authority has filed a lawsuit alleging Jackson tried to punish the agency for nixing a deal involving a friend. The friend, identified by the Journal as Kenny Gamble, is a music producer turned developer.

Separately, a report by HUD's inspector general found what it called "some problematic instances'' involving HUD contracts and grants, including Jackson's opposition to money for a contractor whose executives donated exclusively to Democratic candidates, the Journal said...

Those of you not familiar with the details of the story may be shocked and horrified to learn that a Bush appointee may have tried to yank federal funding from Philie's Housing Authority after the head of the Authority refused to turn over a $2 million vacant city lot to Kenny Gamble, a friend of Jackson's.

Jackson has been giving the Senate the runaround, by the way, pissing off a whole bunch of Senators.

All of this should surprise no one who's been paying attention to the current administration for the last 7 years.