The Nation : Obscure Firm Reaped Huge HUD Fees

An obscure Virginia consulting company reaped huge fees through a Department of Housing and Urban Development program, including $1.5 million for one project approved by a senior official on his last workday at the agency after he waived numerous HUD regulations, according to HUD documents and an investigation by the Baltimore Sun. The consulting fees appear to be the largest yet uncovered in programs operated by the troubled federal housing agency. The Virginia company--Land Development Financing--stood to gain up to $4.9 million in consulting fees on projects under the Title X land development program until HUD Secretary Jack Kemp announced that he was halting the program in late June. The largest Title X loan ever approved by HUD--for $78.2 million--was granted March 3 to McNair Farms, a proposed development in Fairfax County, Va. Land Development Financing received a $1.5-million consulting fee for obtaining the HUD-backed mortgage. The loan was approved by James C. Nistler, deputy assistant secretary of HUD for single-family housing, on his last day of employment at the agency.