The State : U.S. Land Sale Probe Planned

The House subcommittee investigating the widening HUD scandal will examine whether the Newport Beach development company created by William Lyon received preferential treatment when it bought the 827-acre Robinson Ranch in southern Orange County from the agency in 1985, a panel official said. The Department of Housing and Urban Development accepted the Lyon Co.’s bid of $16 million on the land--then valued at about $35 million--despite warnings from HUD’s general counsel that it was not the best bid, according to HUD documents. The examination of the Robinson Ranch deal by the House government operations subcommittee on employment and housing is not expected to begin for several months.