Readers, the Growler has once again been vindicated.
In this morning's Washington Post, the lead story in the Metro section is about Fairfax County's investigation into housing executive Herb Cooper-Levy for allegedly forging a zoning document to secure more than $700,000 in public loans, including not only County funds but also money from the Virginia Housing Development Authority.
Post reporter Derek Kravitz's article reveals Mr. Cooper-Levy's agency, Robert Pierre Johnson Housing Development Corp. (RPJ), is threatened with a three-year ban on receiving Fairfax County contracts unless he is removed from his post.
As long-time followers of this blog may remember, several years ago the Growler outed Mr. Cooper-Levy for his apparent pay-for-play arrangement with the City of Alexandria. While many other residents expressed serious concern about the Braddock Metro Small Area Plan, he testified and wrote passionate letters to the Alexandria Gazette defending the plan while receiving some $10 million in City loans for RPJ acquisitions.
At the time, the Growler didn't think he passed the smell test and it appears that the Cranky One's suspicions were correct.
The bigger question raised by this incident, however, is to what degree Alexandria's leadership is a tiny and incestuous oligarchy in which the anointed players pat each other on the back in return for City favors and big bucks.
Mr. Cooper-Levy was a long-time ally with Planning Commissioner John Komoroske on the informal "Braddock Action Team" that promoted high density development here to take the pressure off Potomac Yard — a move born of Mr. Komoroske's joined-at-the-hip bond with Eric Wagner, the man who led the charge to dumb down the Yard and was rewarded with the Chairmanship of the Planning Commission.
The "BRAT" team also championed keeping public housing concentrated here — no surprise since Mr. Cooper-Levy is a former ARHA employee who shocked observers when he opposed redevelopment of the "Berg" with profane language in public forums.
If this case is now in the hands of Alexandria prosecutors (as the Post article states) will they cut Mr. Cooper-Levy a break? And will he keep his spot on Alexandria's Affordable Housing Committee, which is about to start work on the the City's Master Housing Plan next month? And if he loses his position at RPJ will the City — which is becoming notorious for recycling retired or fired officials — bail him out with a job?
If the answer to any question above is affirmative, chalk it to business as usual in Alexandria.
39 comments:
surely the growler does not believe hamer capable of smoking out falsified documents. her vision for braddock was his and komoroske's recycled notion of stay-in-place poverty. alexandria's low income discussions are always tedious. same bodies same arguments same personal rewards. glad the other jurisdictions are more alert. errr, more honest!
Good work, Growler. Your credibility grows more and more with each passing day.
I cannot believe the City would even dream of appointing Herb Cooper-Levy to any position, much less hiring him. He's under investigation for forgery! Certainly if he's acquitted of these charges, he could be considered. But in the meantime, you've got to be kidding.
There are plenty of other people qualified to serve in the same capacity who haven't been accused of forgery and who haven't spewed profanity or acted like a petulant child during public hearings.
"There are plenty of other people qualified to serve in the same capacity who haven't been accused of forgery and who haven't spewed profanity or acted like a petulant child during public hearings."
And how many of them are Democrats?
This kind of crony corruption permeates every level of Alexandria government. These crooks all take care of each other, and they use public money to do so.
Its ridiculous that they listed to superb Herb in the Braddock planning process. Did they not see the conflict of interest?
I just read the roster of the Housing Master Plan Advisory Group. Supposedly, their number one goal is "To make recommendations to ensure a more balanced geographic distribution of affordable, workforce and public housing throughout the City."
That sounds great to me. However, based on that roster, I don't trust the City as far as I can throw it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are 20 positions yet not one single one is reserved for a representative of NOTCA (much less the Lofts, Chatham Sq., NECA, or the associations representing City citizens whose lives are most impacted by the City's public housing policy????).
Rather, the deck appears to be stacked - yet again - by affordable housing activits.
I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway. The last task force (Fair Share) recommended dispersal of public housing and the City ignored that, too.
"Its ridiculous that they listed to superb Herb in the Braddock planning process. Did they not see the conflict of interest?"
Hamer? She's a "pet" owner if you get my political drift.
"
Rather, the deck appears to be stacked - yet again - by affordable housing activits.
I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway. The last task force (Fair Share) recommended dispersal of public housing and the City ignored that, too."
Maybe we should ask these "activists"
HOW DO YOU PLAN TO PAY FOR YOUR PLAN?
"Can you post a link so we can check the names? The Englin group is backing a Southern Poverty Law candidate for the ARHA Board and I want to know how else the deck is stacked."
I am not sure what they think that will do to help. The ARHA board doesnt seem capable of changing its thinking on current policies so why do they believe another self-appointed "activist" is going to change things.
"housing executive Herb Cooper-Levy for allegedly forging a zoning document to secure more than $700,000 in public loans, including not only County funds but also money from the Virginia Housing Development Authority."
Herb the Magnificent can probably be assured of some task force or workgroup position for the foreseeable future. Name one person who screws up and doesnt get rewarded in this town....
"Cooper-Levy, 60, did not respond to repeated requests for comment by phone and e-mail, and he declined to meet a reporter who visited his Alexandria office Monday. "
Of course, Superb Herb is now going silent after being the official mouthpiece for public housing for so long.
Does anyone in this town have any shame Growler?
"Fairfax police also found that RPJ used the allegedly forged documents to borrow money from the Virginia Housing Development Authority and the Fairfax County Housing Redevelopment Authority, receiving about $511,000 from the state and $189,095 from the county. The properties on Biscayne were built in 1966 and remodeled in the late 1980s as a three-story apartment building. They were sold to RPJ in 2004 for $700,000, according to county records. "
I just want to know if Alexandria will do an investigation of Herbie to determine if he defrauded us too.
I already understand they care little about how the taxpayers money gets spent but a little due diligence by some of the Citys bureaucrats would be lovely....
I am with you Growler, I knew this guy was scum from the moment I heard him speak at the planning meetings. The way Councilmembers and staff fawned over him is reprehensible.
"Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee) said officials took the unusual step of internally investigating the forgery case because of the "high-profile" reputation of RPJ Housing, which is known as a "player in the nonprofit affordable housing world." McKay, who has pushed for a county crackdown on zoning violation cases, also said that Cooper-Levy is known as a particularly vocal proponent of using publicly owned land for subsidized housing and, in the past, has criticized the county's zoning process. "
Of course he is. He doesnt have to live with the results of his "vocalness". He can hide like a wuss in Colecroft.
Here's the link.
http://alexandriava.gov/HousingPlan
If it doesn't work, just go to the City's website and select "Housing" from the list of City departments on the right side of the page.
This is just totally disgraceful. But not totally surprising. Whats more surprising is our Office of Housing and other bureaucrats cant do their job and sniff out the truth. They just keep peddling loans to questionable characters in the name of "affordable housing"
The fact that the firehouse goes begging for residents telss you all you need to know about the Housing Master Plan.
Here's the latest from the Post on Herb Cooper-Levy:
http://tinyurl.com/y9tchof
Note the Commonwealth's Attorney is not going to prosecute. Didn't the Growler tell ya that the City would punt?
The goals of the Housing Master Plan process include:
* To make recommendations to ensure a more balanced geographic distribution of affordable, workforce and public housing throughout the City;
---I mean seriously, are they trying to get people in Parker Gray to have heart attacks from laughing too much?
You already have that. Its called Fair Share. Many members of your advisory group oppose that policy.
So lets create another task force, and burn more money up.
Seriously, just come out to Parker Gray, stuff one of those black iron trash cans with money, and light it on fire. At least that way we could get something (warmth) out of this waste of taxpayer money.
"Fairfax's purchasing and supply director, Cathy Muse, wrote that RPJ Housing "lacks the integrity, moral character, fitness and overall responsibility" to participate in publicly financed projects"
Not according to our City officials....
Its funny how we can have a state delegate get away with accusing cops of banning people from private property because of the "jib" on their coat but our district attorney mysteriously finds no evidence of fraud in this case.
Maybe Parker Gray should just refuse to pay taxes. That might not be a crime in the DA's book.
These are the names of those serving on the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Herbie is #2 man. Flemming is on the ARHA and runs like a rabbit when 'r' word is used. Couldn't find the roster for the Master Plan Task Force.
City Staff Contact:
MILDRILYN DAVIS
OFFICE OF HOUSING
703.746.4990
List of Members:
MICHAEL CAISON
HERB COOPER-LEVY
JOHN CORRADO
CARTER FLEMMING
WILLIAM HARRIS
SHELLY KAUFMAN
MICHELLE L'HEUREUX
LAURA LANTZY
RICK LIU
MARILYN PATTERSON
AMY ROSE
AMY SUSSKIND
"What I said was I did not see sufficient evidence to support criminal prosecution in this jurisdiction.(the City of Alexandria). This is a Fairfax County case, and can be adequately dealt with in that jurisdiction if authorities are so inclined. Submitted by Randy Sengel, Commonwealth's Attorney for Alexandria.""
And it sounds like what the Growler is saying is that the City Attorney is not going to conduct an investigation of Mr. Levy's activities in Alexandria over the years, despite the fact that he is accused of fraud in another jurisdiction.
And why is that?
Use this example: if the state of California found a resident of Virginia guilty of tax fraud do you not think the VA Department of Taxation might have some interest in determining whether said individual also committed fraud in Virginia as well?
Why wont Mr. Sengel at least investigate the dealings of RJP with the City of Alexandria? We as a City loaned this man over 10 million dollars of our money.....
Question, doesn't it make sense for bloggers to email the council and ask that they 1) immediately remove HCL from the advisory committee given the cloud he has over him; 2) appoint at least 1 if not a substaintial number of North Old Town homeowners to the advisory committee given that 80% of all public housing is in your backyard and you have no representation in the process. Separately, given the state of the budget shouldn't the council be forced to provide some rationale for spending money on this exercise when Fair Share has been sitting gathering dust for years? Now seems to be a perfect time to organize not blog.
"Now seems to be a perfect time to organize not blog."
I agree and think WOTCA's President should take the lead. Be careful with the general reference to north Old Town. Remember BEAG? Old Town Civic President Poul Hertel thinks public housing as community is fine as did the President of Northeast Civic. Acknowledged NIMBYs both.
"Separately, given the state of the budget shouldn't the council be forced to provide some rationale for spending money on this exercise when Fair Share has been sitting gathering dust for years?"
Wny not ask your question at Council's open mike? The March public session is probably posted on the calendar.
"2) appoint at least 1 if not a substaintial number of North Old Town homeowners to the advisory committee given that 80% of all public housing is in your backyard and you have no representation in the process."
Why? The whole process should be abandoned immediately. The City spends zillions on these ridiculous task force things. And then does what they want anyway under the guise that no matter what they choose, it's ok because there was substantial citizen involvement.
Personally, I wasted enough time sitting in Braddock Road and BEAG meetings, emailing council, etc.
I managed to convince nearly all of my neighbors to plunk this year. I'm saving my efforts for the elections. So far, I'm voting against all of them except Donley, Fannon and Hughes. Everyone else voted to approve Bland so they clearly believe in concenrated public housing. And I, clearly, don't.
Why wont Mr. Sengel at least investigate the dealings of RJP with the City of Alexandria? We as a City loaned this man over 10 million dollars of our money.....
Who is in charge of investigating this? The City Manager could demand from the City Attorney to look into it if the City feels they have been defrauded.
I was under the impression that the head Commonwealth Attorney (who is elected by us every four years) is only responsible for prosecution of crimes against persons / businesses, and that the City Attorney is responsible for crimes against the city.
If an elected official is not doing what needs to be done on behalf of the City and its taxpayers, they may need to start looking for another place of employment come next election time. I'll just leave it at that.
Interestingly, there is no mention of Herb's fraud on alexandrianews.org. Maybe the Gazette or Times will cover it?
"Interestingly, there is no mention of Herb's fraud on alexandrianews.org. Maybe the Gazette or Times will cover it?"
Digilio was one of the architects of the 1999 school redistricting. He supports neighborhood containment JH as is so he will probably cut Levy a break.
I took at little tiime to write the city council and the mayor on this issue. Here is what I wrote....
-------------------
Greetings Mr. Mayor and Council members. An article appeared in the Washington Post this week that greatly disturbs me. I have included the link here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502635.html
The article states that Fairfax County has accused Mr. Herbert Cooper-Levy of forging a zoning document to secure more than $700,000 in public loans.
This sort of behaviour and Alexandria's propensity to befriend individuals like Mr. Cooper-Levy is a great concern to the city's citizens. As a homeowner at Chatham Square, I can tell you that Mr. Cooper-Levy's actions in the past almost prevented the redevelopment of Old Town's public housing on Royal St, which, in turn, would have prevented me personally from becoming an Old Town homeowner. At numerous meetings on affordable housing in Alexandria, Mr. Cooper-Levy's behaviour, comments and sentiments about homeowners around the city have been less than professional, and in some cases, downright insulting. I wanted to urge the city council to sever ties with Mr. Cooper-Levy and request the immediate repayment of any loans the city may have extended to him and his organization. In addition, the city should be in close communication with Fairfax County and perhaps launch it's own investigation into Mr. Cooper-Levy's organization and its practices within the city. It has become increasingly clear that Mr. Cooper-Levy's interests are not in line with citizens in the city and that he is clearly willing to go to any lengths to further his personal interests in affordable housing.
Thank you for your time and your action on this matter.
"Digilio was one of the architects of the 1999 school redistricting. He supports neighborhood containment JH as is so he will probably cut Levy a break."
Could you explain more about this to those of us new to City politics? Who is Digilio? And what's the deal with the redistricting?
Sounds like Herb Cooper-Levy is full of blarney.
Anybody got a problem holding Hamer locally accountable. You moan when it comes to Wagner but it was Levy and Komoroske who initially designed our disastrous Braddock Road Small Area Plan. If Levy opposed dispersal at Chatham Square and loses then favors the Bland community and wins what does it say about the locus of power?
Rodger Digilio is an Old Town businessman and former School Board Member (back in the days when it was appointed, not elected). He is the publisher of alexandrianews.org.
In 1999 Alexandria's schools were redistricted in such a way that minority and disadvantaged pupils were concentrated at Jefferson-Houston. Previously half the student population had come from other areas, notably the West End's William Ramsay School when cross-town busing was still in effect. Many leaders in the black community protested this virtual resegregation of public schools, but to little avail.
Not a single word about Superb Herb in the local papers.....
I checked all 3 today.
"If Levy opposed dispersal at Chatham Square and loses then favors the Bland community and wins what does it say about the locus of power?"
It says eileen fogarty was the smarter of the two planning directors.
"Not a single word about Superb Herb in the local papers....."
Shocking !!These aren't small town newspapers that want to report local news, these are paper controlled by people with political connections who want to further their agenda or the alexandria gazette which is neither local nor about alexandria. Hence the lack of comprehensive local crime reporting in these papers until the Washington Post writes an article on it first, but full of support Englin and other cronies.
"...yet not one single one is reserved for a representative of NOTCA (much less the Lofts, Chatham Sq., NECA, or the associations representing City citizens whose lives are most impacted by the City's public housing policy????)."
Methinks you are not from Parker Gray as you do not mention the West Old Town Civic Assn. Get it into your thick skulls, shills, YOU don't run our neighborhood anymore.
Don't even whine that you're affected - not the way PG has been the dumping ground, and continues to be, thanks to city carpetbaggers.
"appoint at least 1 if not a substaintial number of North Old Town homeowners to the advisory committee "
Nope, you'd shove it right back at us when it's already in OUR back yard.
WOTCA's back yard.
Go shill somewhere else.
I am very glad to Superb Herb has had his wings clipped. Mr. Cooper-Levy is arrogant, profane and quick to anger. I am however, sad that Fairfax county cannot separate RPJ Housing from Superb Herb. The organization has done so much good and the folks who work there are good and decent people.
Alert, alert, alert. His Herbness appears to be trying to work his way back into housing via a new blog. See http://herbcooperlevy.wordpress.com/author/herbcl/
My advice to the co-op community: Run like hell. Herb's coming.
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