TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — State officials say the FBI is investigating the alleged misspending of nearly $2 million in public money by a Tacoma-based housing nonprofit.
Commerce Department spokeswoman Penny Thomas confirmed the investigation of the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association to The News Tribune newspaper. MLK received the money as part of a $4 million state budget appropriation as well as a $400,000 federal loan.
The money was supposed to be used to help build a mixed-use business and housing center in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood, but the site remains vacant. The nonprofit’s top two officials were fired, and an auditor hired by the Commerce Department found that MLK misspent nearly $2 million and violated various state contract terms.
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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
