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Housing Boss Greene Takes Leave of Absence

The embattled director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority is taking a leave of absence from his job -- saying "stress" is to blame for him falling behind on personal financial matters.

KYW's Ian Bush reports that PHA director Carl Greene's decision comes after the disclosure that he hadn't paid the mortgage on his condo in months, faced foreclosure, and owed the IRS back taxes -- despite earning more than $300,000 a year.

In a statement, Greene (right) says he'll be taking "several weeks" off to get his financial house in order.

He says he's hired an accountant to help, and has paid his mortgage through October.

Greene calls this an "extended vacation" that will help him recover from the mental and physical stresses of his position that he says have left him exhausted.

But, he says, these personal problems have not affected how he runs the Housing Authority.

Greene has made himself scarce since reports of his apparent financial distress were made public; he'd told PHA staff not to expect him at work, and even board members hadn't heard from him.

Greene says he apologizes "for being unavailable" and says he has "three very capable assistant executive directors who will manage day-to-day operations" while he's off.

Greene has gotten public statements of support from Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, a PHA board member, and from Congressman Chaka Fattah.

(Photo provided)

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