HOUSTON, Texas – This week, KPRC 2 Investigates has been looking into how the Houston Housing Authority executives spent taxpayers’ dollars last year.
Months ago, KPRC 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis started following the money HHA paid to contractors to make renovations. We received tips the money meant to pay for improvements to Houston housing developments was not being used properly.
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After we revealed millions of dollars doled out to companies with little to no work history even for projects that were never completed, we were curious what HHA executives were buying with their HHA-issued credit cards. We submitted a public records request to see the credit card statements of every HHA employee with a p-card from January 1, 2023 through September 2024. The records show HHA executives dined at some of Houston’s most upscale restaurants and indulged in workplace parties and massages.
Some of the most outlandish expenses we noticed:
5 separate holiday dinners and parties for HHA employees within a 2 week period in 2023 cost more than $22,000.00.
HHA Senior VP of Administration Khadija Darr spent thousands on monthly office celebrations, catering treats for the office for everything from National Hot Dog Day to National Waffle Day to hosting a Wellness Fair with gift cards and chair massages for staff. The following items are just some of the expenses we found on Darr’s credit card statements.
Office Perks
June Birthdays: $264.94
National Ice Cream Soda Day: $108.78
National Hot Dog Day: $488.50
Wellness gift cards: $1,401.52
National Waffle Day: $262.50
Wellness Fair Massages: $2,322
Candy for Executives: $63.63
September Birthdays: $152.50
October Birthdays: $589.71
CEO David Northern paid $2333.87 for a workout bench and weights at the HHA headquarters on Fountainview.
His assistant and Senior Policy Advisor Na’Shon Edwards treated the 2023 class of 5 interns to a dinner at Steak 48 that cost you $1254.29. Two months later at the end of the internship, they all went out to Vic & Anthony’s, racking up a $1369.64 tab. Edwards took the interns roller skating and to a ropes climbing adventure course.
Dining
Edwards dined out the most of all 5 HHA executives with p-cards. In just nine months, he charged $9,439.84 in restaurant bills. He dined at Steak 48 in the River Oaks District six times, his lowest tab was $375.58. Some of the other high end restaurants HHA execs filled up include:
The Annie Cafe & Bar: $456.75
Mastros Steakhouse: $340.42
Davis Street at Hermann Park: $221.27
B&B Butchers: $384.24
Perry’s Steakhouse: $263.28
Steak 48: $582.28
Oceanaire: $388.10
La Griglia: $256.02
The Houston Housing Authority Board eliminated Edwards’ position in November, allowing him to leave with a $27,692.34 settlement. That was three months of pay for him, plus two and a half weeks of “paid time” off.
These expenses are just a fraction of the charges found in the credit card statements of five HHA employees. More than $140,000 was spent on travel, dining and extracurricular activities. Since then, the two biggest spenders have stepped down -- former CEO and President David Northern and Strategic Advisor Na’Shon Edwards.
So what’s next? The new Houston Housing Authority board appointed by Mayor John Whitmire hired a law firm to investigate all the questionable contracts and deals KPRC 2 Investigates exposed last year. That investigation, which is still ongoing, could be turned over to police.
The HHA Board of Commissioners is also searching for a new President and CEO, which they hope to announce by the end of January.
