City cleanup crew charged with pillaging

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Nine city workers who were supposed to clean blighted Philadelphia areas were charged by a grand jury with stealing from poor, elderly and disabled residents.

The workers, overseen by two supervisors from the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections, allegedly stole handguns to resell on the illegal market, but also made off with cash, silverware and even furniture, District Attorney Lynne Abraham said.

"This was organized to be a clean-and-seal operation, which very rapidly became a clean-and-steal operation," she said.

At least five homes, occupied by poor or elderly and disabled people who met city criteria of being unable to maintain their property's exterior, were ruthlessly stripped of money and goods from June 2006 to January 2008, Abraham said.

Resident Loretta Veale, 67, told The Philadelphia Inquirer she would be in court "if they have to wheel my hospital bed into the courtroom to testify against them."

"They are a lying bunch of (expletive)," she said. "Excuse my language, but there's no other word for them."

Her house was pillaged -- and then Licenses and Inspections billed her nearly $18,000 to clean up the mess, the newspaper said.

She said she had to take out a reverse mortgage to pay the bill -- and spent thousands more to live in a hotel while she replaced her furniture.

The crews were supposed to mow grass, clean up outdoor trash and debris and make small repairs, such as fixing broken window glass, to reduce visible blight in northeast Philadelphia.