Bradenton Housing Authority whistelblower recalls life under former director Wenston DeSue

BRADENTON -- It wasn't all bad when former Bradenton Housing Authority executive director Wenston DeSue assumed the role from his father William in 2008, according to whistleblower Darcy Branch, who brought the younger DeSue's financial improprieties to a stop in September 2013 when federal agents raided the BHA offices.

DeSue and former projects director Stephany West were escorted from the premises, fired and almost two years after the raid, entered guilty pleas to theft of federal funds. The pair billed the BHA for hours not worked for almost $380,000 over a two-year period and sent the agency spiraling into a $500,000 in debt.

Branch, the former finance director, worked at the BHA for more than 20 years until recently resigning.

"When Wenston came on, his father told him to just trust his staff and follow his lead and that's basically what he did for a couple of years," she said.

But there were some strange incidents from the onset. DeSue, in his first year, convinced the BHA board to spend $50,000 to send him to attend a business course at Harvard. Branch said it was one day a month for six months, but DeSue began telling people he attended Harvard Business School and purchased a Harvard class ring.

After the 2013 raid, the Bradenton Herald was unable to obtain DeSue's transcripts. To this day, DeSue claims he attended Harvard Business School from 2008-2011 on his LinkedIn profile.

He recently updated it to remove his BHA experience, but maintains he attended Harvard Business School during a time he worked for the BHA.

"He never had a Harvard degree on his original application and I know that he only attended what was basically a business work shop," said Branch.

Stephany West arrives, everything changes

Branch said the BHA continued on a normal path until DeSue convinced the board to create a new position specifically for West in 2010.

"It wasn't very long after Wenston hired Stephany that they started traveling together, leaving at the same time for lunch and arriving to work at the same time," said Branch. "When they were at work, which wasn't very much, it was pretty obvious they had something going on. It wasn't like they were trying to hide it."

Both DeSue and West were married to other people at the time they were romantically involved. They recently married each other, something West revealed in open court before entering a guilty plea in April. Branch said the affair created a hostile workplace for the staff, who were caught up in their personal business.

"I remember one time when I heard a commotion from Wenston's office and then saw Stephany run by my office to his," said Branch. "I went to see what was going on, and Wenston and Stephany were trying to get out the back door. He claimed Stephany's husband was on his way with a gun. I told him he couldn't leave that on us. There were only three women in the office. He said to shut down the office and told everyone to go home."

Branch said the relationship between DeSue and West kept staff on edge and the couple would often fight in the office about their personal issues, including being contacted by both of their spouses demanding to know if they were having an affair.

From finance director to whistleblower

Branch eventually contacted the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development field office in Miami about a year prior to the raid when she discovered what DeSue was doing.

"I told them what they were doing was fraud, but they didn't listen to me," she said. "I contacted the HUD-Office of Inspectors General Office and it snowballed from there. Next thing I know I had federal agents contacting me and visiting me at my house and the investigation was underway."

Branch said if she had she not taken action, "I estimated that the BHA would have been bankrupt within another year. We were over $500,000 in debt by 2012 and it was all done right under the board's nose, including giving Wenston bonuses in the same meeting he had them approve a budget adjustment for the debt."

Branch said DeSue typically closed the door to board meetings and locked out staff, a violation of the Sunshine Law, but saw the documents signed by the board. During the investigation she was given strict instructions from federal agents not to discuss the investigation with anyone, including board members, who to this day, deny any responsibility.

Instead, some put the blame on Branch, claiming she either knew about it and did nothing, or was involved. The board did not yet know Branch was the whistleblower. When HUD gave her the green light to tell the board, she received a reaction she didn't expect. Former board member Lois Gerber told Branch in a public meeting she should have defied HUD's orders and told the board DeSue was under investigation.

Gerber told Branch, "You threw us to the wolves."

Branch said if the board could approve bonuses while the agency was in debt and condone illegal meetings, she certainly couldn't trust the board nor would she violate a director order from federal agents. "I did my job," she said.

The aftermath of DeSue

Over the course of the year Branch served as interim director and helped pull the agency out of debt. The board discussed hiring Branch full time, but decided to conduct a national search they ultimately had to do twice.

Branch applied, but was voted out of being a finalist and qualifying for a direct interview. Given public comments about Branch from two board members, she threatened litigation and the board relented to give her an interview. She interviewed with four other candidates, including Ellis Mitchell Jr., who was hired in November.

Mitchell promised to make big changes, including reducing salaries that he said were extremely high for a small agency. He fulfilled his pledge to make drastic cost savings decisions, leading to the resignation of development director Lance Clayton.

Clayton called into question Mitchell's managerial experience and Branch is now doing the same. Mitchell told the board in a June meeting that Branch resigned due to health reasons, "which is not the case. I was on sick leave when I submitted my resignation, but it had nothing to do with my resignation. He knows why I resigned."

Branch's letter of resignation confirms that she was undergoing health issues, but it never stated that health was the reason for her resignation. Branch declined to discuss her reasons further, indicating there may be future legal action involved.

West and DeSue have September sentencing

West is scheduled for a Sept. 9 sentencing, one week after her husband's Sept. 2 sentencing. Both face up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine as part of a plea deal where prosecutors agreed not to pursue additional charges. The plea deal also forces the pair to pay full restitution to HUD, but the sentencing judge still has full discretion in whether there will be prison time.

Despite all of the hardships that DeSue's actions created for a lot of people, including the public housing community that suffered the most through years of a lack of funding, Branch said she doesn't want the pair to go prison.

"I don't think anybody will be served justice by putting them in jail and having the taxpayer support them," she said. "I think they should have a lot of community service and be able to work and pay back that money to the community."

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Housing Authority whistelblower recalls life under former director Wenston DeSue."