A Florida contractor hired by the Housing Authority of New Orleans to oversee its finances embezzled more than $900,000 during the past three years, according to charges filed Monday by the U.S. attorney's office.
Separate public records show that during the same time period the fiscal manager, Elias Castellanos, 43, bought a $1.6 million mansion in Davie, Fla., just north of Miami, and five late-model cars -- including a Lamborghini Gallardo worth more than $200,000, a Ferrari F430, a Porsche 911 and two Mercedes-Benzes.
Federal prosecutors charged Castellanos with one count of embezzlement Monday through a bill of information, indicating that a plea agreement is likely soon to follow. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office didn't provide details of the alleged scam, but charged that Castellanos pocketed $900,927 while serving as HANO's chief financial officer.
Federal prosecutors also said they would seek to recover $876,917 if they can prove the charges against Castellanos. The bill of information states that the government will try to seize property Castellanos purchased with the money.
Florida public records show he bought the 6,000-square-foot home in 2008 and the five cars between January 2008 and April 2009.
The felony charge against Castellanos comes on the heels of Friday's news that the head of HANO's rental voucher programs, Dwayne Muhammad, was using a Section 8 voucher to pay his own rent, even as he received a $100,000 government salary. And just before Castellanos left HANO in June, the FBI raided the authority's offices after three employees were accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a separate accounting ruse.
What's so "progressive" about wide spread corruption?
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