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Former Housing Authority Workers Charged With Theft

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TBO.com

Published: December 12, 2007

Updated: 12/12/2007 04:37 pm

Read The Indictments: Charge 1 | Charge 2

TAMPA - Three former Tampa Housing Authority employees were charged today in two federal indictments with embezzling more than $125,000 in federal money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Carlton Miles, Calvin Coleman and Mario Lovett were employed by the housing authority when they recruited friends and family members to pretend to be landlords under Section 8, a federal program that subsidizes rent payments for low-income individuals and families, according to the indictment.

Two indictments, unsealed Wednesday, list checks totaling $125,862 issued to 10 friends or family members who were falsely identified in housing authority records as being Section 8 landlords.

Miles, 37, and Coleman, 43, appeared today in U.S. District Court and plead not guilty to conspiracy to steal government money. Others charged today were Jeffery Larkins, 41; Joenathan Haile, 39; William Reeves, 25; and Mary Barker, 48.

Lovett, 29, did not appear in court.

Larkins and Reeves also pleaded not guilty. Haile and Barker have yet to enter a plea.

Six other individuals also are named as having posed as landlords to receive and deposit federal subsidy checks. They did not appear in court today, but were identified as Jonathan Denson, Brian Montgomery, Koungnum Brown, Kinta Starling, Jose Oliver and Adrian Mosley.

Miles and Coleman, in addition, are charged with a separate public corruption offense of stealing from the housing authority, according to Middle District of Florida U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill's office.

If convicted, the conspiracy charge has a maximum five-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the theft and public corruption charge is 10 years and a $250,000 fine.

"The theft of funds that are there to help the needy is deplorable," O'Neill said in a prepared statement Wednesday.

Jerome Ryans, housing authority president, referred questions today to federal officials.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini contributed to this report. Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915 or jallman@tampatrib.com.

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