New info on contractor at center of FBI investigation into South Bend Housing Authority

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- ABC57 is learning new information about the contractor at the center of the FBI investigation into the Housing Authority of South Bend. On Wednesday, the FBI raided three South Bend properties; the main housing authority offices, a home owned by the agency and a home of another man who does work for the agency.

All of the raids seem to be connected to the HASB and a man by the name of Archie Robinson. Robinson currently owns a company called KTR Kleaning to Renovations. According to HASB records, KTR was awarded a contract to complete "Comprehensive modernization of vacant units."

However, it appears Robinson was also living in a HASB property. That house is located on Thornhill Drive and was one of the homes raided by the FBI early Wednesday morning. The other house that was part of the raid is the home of one of Robinson's sub-contractors. That property is not owned by HASB.

Robinson also has a long history with HASB. He previously owned another, similar company called A Mop and a Bucket. That company had a similar contract with HASB in the 2000's and early 2010's. However, he sued the housing authority and people connected to it for sexual harassment and discrimination in 2012. That lawsuit was dismissed in federal court in 2014. 

ABC57 asked Mayor Pete Buttigieg if his office had ever been told about any corruption at the housing authority earlier today.

“People sometimes come to the office with complaints about the housing authority. And it’s ranged from simple maintenance issued to people who believe there is wrong doing going on. We refer that to the board of commissioners. There is no way for me to know for sure whether the current law enforcement activity is related to any allegation that’s been brought here.” Mayor Buttigieg said.

The housing authority spends a lot of money on maintenance and operation contracts. According to an audit from last year, the organization spent $2.17 million in 2018.

That same audit also showed some problems in book-keeping. One part of the audit stated, “The Authority did not have adequate controls over the period-end financial reporting process to detect material misstatements. The Authority did not properly record entries related to HUD receivables, port-in receivables, accounts payable, net position, and related revenue and expense accounts.”

The Department of Justice has confirmed there was federal law enforcement activity in South Bend, but would not go into specifics about the investigation.