SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - Florida Rep. John Mica said Friday that he is outraged by the Department of Justice’s decision not to prosecute former leaders of Sanford’s Housing Authority after a 2011 audit found mismanagement.
Mica said Friday it was “absolutely an outrageous situation” that the department would not act on the findings by the Department of Housing and Urban Development audit, which included references to abuse of funds by the housing authority’s former executive director Angel Tua. The 2011 audit called for administrative or civil action against Tua and other people responsible for mismanagement.
Tua was removed from his position in 2010 after a federal probe found the authority’s housing units to be in poor condition and the agency to be ineptly managed.
Mica, chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, presided over a hearing in Washington on Thursday that looked at the practices of housing authorities nationwide. He was told at that hearing by HUD Inspector General David Montoya that though his office had offered a criminal referral regarding the Sanford agency to DOJ, it had declined to prosecute.
“I have just about had it with the Department of Justice and (Attorney General Eric Holder) for their lack of prosecution in not only this case, but other cases,” Mica said.
A message left with the Department of Justice was not immediately returned.
The audit showed $1.2 million of authority funds that were found to be questionably used. Tua himself was accused of using agency credit cards for personal use.
Mica said he intends to pursue other actions “against individuals who have misused the public trust.” He said those actions could be both civil and possibly state criminal charges.
“It’s a sad day for the taxpayers. It’s a sad day for holding people accountable who misuse public trust,” Mica said.
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