Pa. places tax lien against ex-PHA chief Carl R. Greene

The state Department of Revenue has slapped former Philadelphia Housing Authority Executive Director Carl R. Greene with $112,117 in liens for eight years of back taxes.

The liens cover unpaid personal income taxes from 2001 to 2008. The biggest debt is from 2006. For that year, Greene is said to owe $11,157 and interest and penalties of $6,000.

Elizabeth Brassell, a spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue, says state tax liens block everything from the ability to get credit to the sale of major assets, such as a home.

A $52,000 IRS lien in 2010 brought Greene's financial troubles to light. He subsequently missed three mortgage payments totaling $7,295.89 for a three-bedroom townhouse in Naval Square.

News of his financial troubles was quickly followed by reports of sexual-harassment complaints against Greene. He was fired a month later.

In the spring, Greene put his Philadelphia home up for sale, asking $575,000. But he soon pulled the property off the market. He bought the house new in 2007 for $615,035.

He is believed to be living in Georgia and could not be reached for comment.

Greene's attorney, Clifford Haines, said in an e-mail, "Mr. Greene has not been a part of the Philadelphia scene for over one year. The fact that he has a dispute with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over taxes is of no consequence to anything that you have made apparent to me."

At the time Greene left the authority, his salary and bonuses totaled more than $350,000.

Brassell said that until the liens were satisfied, they would continue to build up penalties.

In an August 2010 interview with The Inquirer, shortly after the IRS lien was filed, Greene charged that "people with bloody daggers are doing whatever they can to finish me off."

In September 2010, PHA's Board of Commissioners fired him for alleged sexual harassment of four female subordinates. Greene had secretly settled three harassment complaints for $648,000. A fourth suit was settled for $500,000.

The board's report labeled Greene a "serial sexual harasser" who conspired with top-level PHA officials to hide the settlements from the board.

Greene, who headed the agency for 12 years, is suing the PHA board in federal court, contending that he was wrongly terminated.

After his firing, multiple federal agencies - including the FBI and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - launched investigations into whether the authority under Greene misused federal tax dollars. HUD provides the bulk of PHA's budget, now about $400 million. It provides housing for 80,000 low-income people.

Greene was recruited from the Detroit housing authority by then-Mayor Ed Rendell. In Detroit, Greene was accused of sexually harassing a female subordinate. The complaint was settled before going to trial.

In March, HUD took control of PHA, the fourth-largest public-housing authority. HUD says it hopes to return the authority to local control next year.