Conti leaves Affordable Housing board

January 26, 2006

PAT LITOWITZ
plitowitz@ncnewsonline.com

A central figure in the Affordable Housing of Lawrence County saga has resigned.

Donald "Ducky" Conti, who served as secretary of the nonprofit agency's board of directors, stepped down this week.

Conti continues to serve as a board member for the Lawrence County Housing Authority, which established Affordable Housing in 2003.

Attempts to reach Conti were unsuccessful.

Last week, Conti entered a guilty plea in county common pleas court to a charge involving illegal gambling machines. State police filed the charge after a July 2004 raid on the Vita Nuova Club, 630 E. Washington St. His sentencing has been set for March 1.

Conti also agreed to enter the county's accelerated rehabilitative disposition program in conjunction with a similar charge New Castle police had filed.

Affordable Housing's chairman, Bill Bonner, confirmed Jan. 26 that Conti's resignation was effective Jan. 23.

Having only two members on the board is not an ideal situation, Bonner said, but added, "That's what we have to deal with at this time."

The other remaining member is Deno DeLorenzo, who joined the agency's board this month.

Conti is the fifth member to leave Affordable Housing's board in the past two months. The other four are Robert Evanick, who is the executive director of the Lawrence County Housing Authority; Frank Natale II, an attorney; Karen DeCarlo, a New Castle City Councilwoman; and the Rev. James O. Blackwell. They all stepped down in December.

Bonner, an official at First Commonwealth Bank, said he and DeLorenzo are considering asking some people to serve as ad hoc members of Affordable Housing's board.

"We'll try to move forward as best we can," he said.

The Lawrence County commissioners want Conti off the housing authority's board. They hired attorney Thomas Bashara to handle that effort. Because of a conflict of interest, county solicitor Thomas W. Leslie cannot handle the matter. Leslie had served as Conti's legal counsel in the case.

In reaction to Conti's plea, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken an interest in the case.
HUD is the housing authority's sole source of funding.

On Nov. 29, it suspended housing authority board member Gary F. Felasco.

The federal housing agency cited criminal charges against the county treasurer as reason for the suspension. HUD said it is required to protect the public's interest and maintain integrity.

The authority provided Affordable Housing with a $200,000 no-interest loan in 2003. The board also turned over its laundry operations and revenue to Affordable Housing.

That agency's initial objective was to build housing for low-income families and/or the handicapped. Instead, the group rehabilitated homes.

Affordable Housing purchased eight properties last year totaling $340,000. With financing through First Commonwealth Bank, Affordable Housing obtained $290,000 in mortgages.

Giving 60 days notice, the housing authority recently ended its laundry pact with Affordable Housing.
Attorney Louis Perrotta, in his role as housing authority solicitor, had concerns dating back to 2004 about agency's operations.

In an April 2004 letter to Evanick, Perrotta recommended that an outside law firm look into several areas.

They were contracts, segregation of funds, conflicts of interest, board appointments and collateral. In October 2004, he reiterated his request.

Perrotta resigned as housing authority solicitor this month.

Copyright (c) 2006, New Castle News