HUD Showdown with Housing Director Set for Tuesday

Greene, Dycus & Co., a Sanford, FL-based CPA firm, confirms the CDs are in the Sanford branches of SunTrust Bank and First Union Bank.

Now HUD is faced tomorrow in its final report with either retracting its earlier accusation on the missing money or disclosing new revelations on controversial Hudson, the 39-year-old, $81,000-a-year head of a city-governed agency accused of neglecting repairs on six HUD multifamily housing complexes totaling 450 units over the past three years.

Hudson is resigning April 20, but some city council members want to fire him immediately over HUD's allegations. HUD's report tomorrow will also criticize the entire Sanford Housing Authority board for not keeping a closer watch on Hudson's activities since he joined the agency in 1991 and became its executive director in 1994.

Of particular interest to HUD is so-called incentive compensation totaling $100,000 Hudson paid to himself and authority members since 1997. HUD's audit calls the money non-approved bonuses. But Hudson calls the money part of an authority-approved plan that pays employees for unused sick, vacation and compensatory time. Hudson isn't disputing he earned $55,000 from this plan.

HUD's preliminary audit also questions the amount of time Hudson puts into his two commercial real estate development companies at the same time his agency is supposed to be renovating HUD's apartment properties for lower-income residents.