Providence Housing Authority Director Placed on Leave - ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

Providence Housing Authority Director Placed on Leave

The embattled Executive Director of the Providence Housing Authority has been placed on leave.

The group's board suspended Stephen O'Rourke Tuesday night without pay.

He's been accused of mismanaging taxpayer dollars and sexual harassment.

The allegations against O'Rourke were apparently worrisome enough to board members that they decided unanimously to suspend him without pay.

O'Rourke is facing some serious allegations, which include everything from awarding contracts to friends instead of bidding them out, touching female employees inappropriately, and even looking at porn on office computers.

Now before the executive session of the board put O'Rourke on leave, he did speak to ABC6 News, defending his innocence.

"I deny all the allegations against me because they're false, and I think when the review is done, I'll be cleared." said O'Rourke.

It was O'Rourke's former secretary, Elizabeth Herosy, whose allegations triggered a federal investigation into O'Rourke's time at the housing authority.

ABC6 News spoke to a friend of her's tonight, who told us that Herosy is "Happy with the board's unanimous decision" to suspend O'Rourke.