Public housing chief faces foreclosure

The mortgage foreclosure crisis has claimed an unlikely victim: Carl R. Greene, executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA).

Wells Fargo Bank has foreclosed on Greene's $615,035 condominium in the upscale Naval Square development in Southwest Philadelphia.

In a lawsuit filed July 27, Wells Fargo said the amount in dispute is $386,685.22.

Greene, 53, who runs the nation's fourth largest public housing agency, is one of the highest paid public officials in the city. He earns a salary of $306,370 and got a bonus last year of $44,188.

Kirk Dorn, a spokesman for Greene, confirmed Thursday that the housing chief was "involved in a dispute with his mortgage company."

"It's unfortunate that the dispute is now public, but he plans to deal with the matter in private," Dorn said.

Dorn added that Greene "knows people will find it hard to understand how he could be involved in a possible foreclosure proceeding on his home, but he would prefer not to say more about it at this time."

Greene bought his three-bedroom, 2,100-square-foot condo in 2007. Wells Fargo is not seeking an eviction of Greene.

Like any other Philadelphia homeowner threatened with losing a house, Greene will have to participate in the city's mortgage foreclosure program and appear on Sept. 16 in the courtroom of Judge Annette Rizzo.

PHA, a state authority, is funded mostly by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is responsible for providing housing to poor residents in Philadelphia. It maintains rowhouses and apartments for lower-income people and also develops affordable housing for homebuyers.