Ex-Housing Chief Sues Philadelphia Newspapers

Carl Greene claims papers mounted a “campaign of defamation”

Carl Greene, ousted head of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, is suing the owners of the city’s two largest newspapers, Philadelphia Media Network.

In a lawsuit filed on Friday in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, Greene alleges the papers' “abusive muckraking attacks” were designed partly to boost sales during the news company's bankruptcy.

The lawsuit says The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News published 246 articles about Greene in a one-year period, at the same time the papers were mired in serious financial troubles.

The coverage in question dates back to the summer of 2010, and included stories about Greene's personal finances and reports the agency used $900,000 in public funds to secretly settle four sexual-harassment lawsuits filed against him.

Greene was fired in September 2010. He has also filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit.

The PHA Board was forced to resign in March under pressure from the the U.S. Department of Housing And Urban Development.

In August, interim PHA head Michael Kelly, took over as its permanent executive director. He will also fill a dual role for HUD, overseeing PHA's recovery since Greene's departure. A return to full local control of the agency is expected sometime in 2012.

Newspaper spokesman Mark Block told the Associated Press the company isn't commenting on the pending litigation.

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