Former Property Manager Charged with Taking Cash for Placements in Subsidized Apartments, Reports U.S. Attorney

12 January 2006

BOSTON, Jan. 10 -- A federal Grand Jury today returned an Indictment today charging a former property manager, responsible for screening applicants for Section 8 subsidized apartments, with accepting cash payments totaling $26,000 from applicants seeking subsidized housing.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Kenneth Donohue, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General, announced today that WANDA MERCADO, age 38, of 76 Brook Street, Brockton, Massachusetts, has been named in an Indictment charged her with five counts of Corrupt Receipt of Payments by an Agent of a Federally Funded Local Government Entity.

According to the Indictment, MERCADO took money from five applicants who sought subsidized apartments in three buildings that MERCADO managed: 610 Cummins Highway, Mattapan, Massachusetts; 60 Brookledge Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts; and 37 Williams Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts. It is alleged that MERCADO was paid amounts ranging from $4,500 to $6,000 by the five applicants for a total of $26,000. At the time, MERCADO was employed as a Property Manager for Peabody Properties, Inc. which served as the management agent for the buildings. The owner of the buildings, School House '77 Associates, participated in Housing Assistance Payments contracts administered by the Boston Housing Authority ("BHA"), pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.

There is a wait list for financially eligible applicants to the Section 8 housing program, which provides rental subsidies for qualifying low income families. It is illegal to solicit or accept payments from applicants for housing assistance.

"The Section 8 program is intended to help some of the neediest families in Massachusetts," stated U.S. Attorney Sullivan. "Taking money from people who are already struggling financially, as is alleged, is cruel, especially when you also deprive eligible applicants, who have waited for years, of their chance for a subsidized unit. I would like to commend Peabody Properties for bringing this matter to the attention of law enforcement authorities."

"After providing for the national defense, our government's most important activity is administering and maintaining our laws that bring order and protect our citizens from wrongdoers," stated Inspector General Donohue. "It is particularly important to assist those who may be least able to defend themselves from such egregious activity. The HUD, Office of Inspector General is pleased to join the US Attorney's Office in undertaking such an endeavor for the benefit of the citizens of Massachusetts and the residents living in HUD-funded communities."

If convicted, MERCADO faces up to 10 years' imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on each of the five counts in the Indictment.

The case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul G. Levenson of Sullivan's Public Corruption Unit.

The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: prnewswire

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