Rudolf Montiel

Of course Los Angeles residents have every right and reason to be outraged about former Housing Authority chief Rudolf Montiel being paid nearly $1.2 million to just go away. Outrage is warranted, as well, over the lavish spending by agency officials to travel around the country, to take limousine rides and to eat and drink high on the hog, as reported by KCET-TV's "SoCal Connected. " In the scheme of things, though, the most important question left unanswered is not how much money Housing Authority officials spent on themselves or bestowed on Montiel that could and should have been spent housing people in need.

Los Angeles' housing authority, which runs on about $1 billion a year in taxpayer funds, is plagued by bad financial management that causes "questionable practices and poor decisions," according to an audit released Thursday by City Controller Wendy Greuel. Greuel launched the audit last year amid an outcry over hefty taxpayer-funded restaurant tabs for agency officials and a $1-million-plus payout for the authority's fired executive director. The agency is responsible for sheltering about 75,000 of the city's neediest households.

Seeking to end a long-simmering dispute with tenant advocacy groups, officials with the Los Angeles housing authority said Thursday that they had agreed to rescind eviction notices sent to a group of renters who picketed the Rancho Cucamonga home of a top executive three months ago. The authority's seven-member board approved an agreement that would require the agency to cover the lawyers' fees for 11 targeted tenants and purchase computers for...

Naming a new leader to Los Angeles' troubled housing authority three months ago was supposed to help calm a scandal over excessive perks and outsized pay at an agency charged with sheltering the city's poorest residents. But this week, Los Angeles officials faced fresh questions over a pay package for the new agency chief that is more than $100,000 a year above a new limit set by the federal government. Washington regulators this week announced a plan to permanently cap federal funding for housing authority executive salaries at $155,000 a year, acknowledging that some compensation packages had become "clearly excessive.

Los Angeles' housing authority board voted Monday evening to fire the agency's chief executive, Rudolf Montiel. The move comes less than six months after Montiel faced the wrath of city leaders when his agency tried to evict nine tenants who had protested housing authority policies at Montiel's Rancho Cucamonga home. At the time, City Council members called Montiel "childlike" and accused him of acting like "Big Brother. " The eviction notices were later rescinded. Montiel has headed the agency ?

Los Angeles' public housing agency moved to evict nine tenants last week after they protested at the Rancho Cucamonga home of the agency's top executive. The action so outraged members of the City Council that on Wednesday they ordered the Housing Authority to immediately halt the action. They accused agency head Rudolf Montiel, who receives nearly $450,000 in salary and benefits, of being "childlike" and of acting like "Big Brother. " Council members voted unanimously to ask the state attorney general to investigate Montiel's actions, prompting cheers from a crowd of angry tenants who had packed the chamber to tell their stories.

Rudolf Montiel seemed remarkably sanguine last spring, sitting in a meeting room at the Los Angeles Housing Authority headquarters as he was publicly castigated by tenants just before being fired as the head of the largest public housing operation west of the Mississippi. He even smiled slightly as he threaded his way through an angry crowd. Before he stepped into the elevator, Montiel coolly suggested that his ouster had "an air of retribution and retaliation. " Montiel may have had reason to smile.

Three nonprofit groups that represent low-income families intend to file a class action lawsuit alleging that thousands of tenants in Los Angeles housing projects were improperly charged for trash removal by the city. The lawsuit, slated to be filed Wednesday, contends that residents in 14 housing projects are owed $8 million for payments they made over the last four years. The Western Center on Law and Poverty, working with two other advocacy groups, said residents at Jordan Downs, Ramona Gardens and a dozen other locations signed leases that identified "rubbish removal" as a service covered by the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles.

Several Los Angeles City Housing Authority Board members said Thursday they would welcome an audit by Controller Wendy Greuel of their travel expenses. The move comes after a CBS-TV Channel 2 report last month that board members spent more than $150,000 over the last two years on extravagant hotels and restaurants, and sometimes double dipped, accepting per diems for expenses while also paying for meals with agency credit cards. Agency staff has asked several board members to reimburse hundreds of dollars for such double-dipping charges.

Rudolf Montiel holds one of the biggest government jobs in Los Angeles, running a $1-billion-a-year agency responsible for sheltering more than 60,000 of the city's neediest families. He is also one of the city's best-paid officials, with a compensation package of about $450,000 a year, including 10 weeks of vacation. But despite his power and perks, in his six-year tenure Montiel has mostly flown beneath the radar ? until a dust-up this month over a move to evict nine public housing tenants who picketed with others outside his Rancho Cucamonga home.

Three nonprofit groups that represent low-income families intend to file a class action lawsuit alleging that thousands of tenants in Los Angeles housing projects were improperly charged for trash removal by the city. The lawsuit, slated to be filed Wednesday, contends that residents in 14 housing projects are owed $8 million for payments they made over the last four years. The Western Center on Law and Poverty, working with two other advocacy groups, said residents at Jordan Downs, Ramona Gardens and a dozen other locations signed leases that identified "rubbish removal" as a service covered by the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles.

Of course Los Angeles residents have every right and reason to be outraged about former Housing Authority chief Rudolf Montiel being paid nearly $1.2 million to just go away. Outrage is warranted, as well, over the lavish spending by agency officials to travel around the country, to take limousine rides and to eat and drink high on the hog, as reported by KCET-TV's "SoCal Connected. " In the scheme of things, though, the most important question left unanswered is not how much money Housing Authority officials spent on themselves or bestowed on Montiel that could and should have been spent housing people in need.

Contradicting earlier claims by an aide to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the board president of Los Angeles' embattled Housing Authority said Thursday that the mayor's office was told in advance about the proposed terms of a deal to pay a fired agency executive nearly $1.2 million. Deputy Mayor Sarah Sheahan said earlier this week that neither the mayor nor his staff were warned that the housing authority's board -- made up of Villaraigosa appointees -- planned to give the seven-figure payout to Rudolf Montiel, who was ousted as executive director in March.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was not consulted before his appointees at the Housing Authority quietly gave a nearly $1.2-million payout to a top executive fired several months ago, a mayoral spokeswoman said Tuesday. Deputy Mayor Sarah Sheahan said the mayor, now on a trade mission to Asia, was unaware of the settlement and severance package provided to Rudolf Montiel until Friday, after The Times began inquiring about it. Villaraigosa appoints the seven members of the authority's governing board and has a deputy mayor assigned to track the agency's activities.

Rudolf Montiel seemed remarkably sanguine last spring, sitting in a meeting room at the Los Angeles Housing Authority headquarters as he was publicly castigated by tenants just before being fired as the head of the largest public housing operation west of the Mississippi. He even smiled slightly as he threaded his way through an angry crowd. Before he stepped into the elevator, Montiel coolly suggested that his ouster had "an air of retribution and retaliation. " Montiel may have had reason to smile.

Los Angeles' housing authority board voted Monday evening to fire the agency's chief executive, Rudolf Montiel. The move comes less than six months after Montiel faced the wrath of city leaders when his agency tried to evict nine tenants who had protested housing authority policies at Montiel's Rancho Cucamonga home. At the time, City Council members called Montiel "childlike" and accused him of acting like "Big Brother. " The eviction notices were later rescinded. Montiel has headed the agency ?

Naming a new leader to Los Angeles' troubled housing authority three months ago was supposed to help calm a scandal over excessive perks and outsized pay at an agency charged with sheltering the city's poorest residents. But this week, Los Angeles officials faced fresh questions over a pay package for the new agency chief that is more than $100,000 a year above a new limit set by the federal government. Washington regulators this week announced a plan to permanently cap federal funding for housing authority executive salaries at $155,000 a year, acknowledging that some compensation packages had become "clearly excessive.

Contradicting earlier claims by an aide to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the board president of Los Angeles' embattled Housing Authority said Thursday that the mayor's office was told in advance about the proposed terms of a deal to pay a fired agency executive nearly $1.2 million. Deputy Mayor Sarah Sheahan said earlier this week that neither the mayor nor his staff were warned that the housing authority's board -- made up of Villaraigosa appointees -- planned to give the seven-figure payout to Rudolf Montiel, who was ousted as executive director in March.

Several Los Angeles City Housing Authority Board members said Thursday they would welcome an audit by Controller Wendy Greuel of their travel expenses. The move comes after a CBS-TV Channel 2 report last month that board members spent more than $150,000 over the last two years on extravagant hotels and restaurants, and sometimes double dipped, accepting per diems for expenses while also paying for meals with agency credit cards. Agency staff has asked several board members to reimburse hundreds of dollars for such double-dipping charges.

Seeking to end a long-simmering dispute with tenant advocacy groups, officials with the Los Angeles housing authority said Thursday that they had agreed to rescind eviction notices sent to a group of renters who picketed the Rancho Cucamonga home of a top executive three months ago. The authority's seven-member board approved an agreement that would require the agency to cover the lawyers' fees for 11 targeted tenants and purchase computers for...