The publicity-driven HUD chief so hyperventilated at press conferences about the scam that a federal judge had to put a stop to all the heavy breathing. Before the gag order was issued, however, Cuomo had already called the case "the largest ever brought by HUD" and denounced "the abysmal conditions" that he said tenants were forced to live with in the "poorly maintained" projects then managed by Farkas. Cuomo's press release said HUD's mission was to provide housing for the needy"not to provide lives of luxury for con artists stealing from our programs."
The complaint, which the Justice Department filed "on behalf of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development," charged that Insignia "submitted false statements" to HUD certifying that apartments in one project, Sierra Nevada Arms in Las Vegas, "had been inspected and were decent, safe, and sanitary, when in fact, the units were not decent, safe, and sanitary." Cuomo had visited that project in 1994 while an assistant secretary at HUD, and been so appalled by conditions that he says now he resolved that he "was not going to leave HUD without doing something" to hold those responsible accountable. In 1995, fueled by inspectors' reports, HUD seized control of the project, replacing Farkas's management firm and offering tenants vouchers to leave. When Cuomo announced the lawsuit two years later, he recalled the visit to Sierra Nevada, claiming he "saw a broken pipe literally spewing human waste on the children's playground." He said he saw children playing in it.
These conditions were directly connected to what the complaint called "the kickback scheme" involving Insignia, because "the money that changed hands was supposed to be used for reasonable operating expenses of HUD projects" but was instead diverted by Insignia to the owners, "who provided no services." Cuomo said the projects, which included Hill Manor in Newark, "were allowed to deteriorate into disrepair because funds were not spent on needed capital improvements and maintenance"a consequence of the kickback diversion of a third of all the management fees HUD paid Insignia for these projects over six years.
Toomey and Corbett. Ugh. The sad part is, we have some decent candidates. Sestak is better than Specter who was a sleazy opportunist, so it was nice to see him defeat Specter, however Toomey is little more than Rick Santorum 2.0 and frankly, he scares me. Yet he will win. 
