HUD secretary under investigation

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A court filing against a U.S. Cabinet secretary alleged he harassed the Philadelphia Housing Authority over a development amid claims of nepotism.

A court filing in Philadelphia accused U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson of insisting that the PHA transfer a $2 million public property to a politically connected developer at a substantially lower price, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The filing claimed Jackson responded with "menacing" letters when the PHA refused to follow his demands.

PHA Executive Director Carl Greene claimed in the court filing that HUD, which Jackson heads, retaliated for the refusal by stripping the PHA's authority to spend federal funds.

The dispute involves a blight revitalization project of Philadelphia's Martin Luther King Jr. housing development. Greene contends the HUD decision would raise rents at the low-income development and result in the loss of several jobs.

HUD's inspector general and the U.S. Justice Department are investigating Jackson for nepotism and other allegations.