Charges unlikely over misspending at Illinois housing agency

CAIRO, Ill. (AP) - The former director of a southern Illinois housing authority is unlikely to face federal criminal charges for wrongly using agency money on personal expenses.

Federal prosecutors have spent several months reviewing the case against James Wilson from when he led the Alexander County Housing Authority in the city of Cairo. A judge in November approved a $500,000 settlement deal between Wilson and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft tells The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan that he believes the settlement is "a just resolution to the serious allegations of gross mismanagement."

HUD accused Wilson and another former local housing official of using agency money for personal travel and gifts and submitting false documentation.

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com