NORTHAMPTON — Cara Leiper, the executive director for the Northampton Housing Authority, has been placed on paid administrative leave following a January complaint submitted to the authority’s board and various state agencies accusing her of numerous legal and ethical violations that include providing housing to close friends and family members.

The anonymous complaint, a copy of which was obtained by the Gazette, is addressed to the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) Secretary Ed Augustus, and appears to have been sent to other state officials including the Massachusetts attorney general, the State Ethics Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The EOHLC acknowledged in a Jan. 22, 2025 letter to the Northampton Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners that it received the written complaint from “current and former employees of the Northampton Housing Authority who have requested that their identities be withheld and protected under the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act.”

The complaint states that Leiper, who has been executive director for nearly a decade and also serves in the same capacity for Easthampton and Hatfield, allegedly engaged in “nepotism and favoritism” by giving housing to close friends and family members and allowing them to skip waitlists. It also accuses her of creating “an unprofessional work environment,” displaying favoritism toward staff members, engaging in retaliatory measures against those who disagree with her, and sexually harassing staff members.

Sheilah McCarthy, an attorney representing Leiper in the case, told the Gazette that Leiper denies any wrongdoing. McCarthy emphasized that Leiper’s administrative leave is paid and not disciplinary.

She also noted that the anonymous letter contains “multiple false and defamatory statements concerning Ms. Leiper,” and that Leiper intends to cooperate with a pending investigation and expects to be fully vindicated.

In a Tuesday memo sent to tenants, the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners stated it had authorized its attorney to contract with Greene & Hafer, a law firm specializing in employment law and workplace violations, to conduct an independent investigation of the claims in the complaint. The board also stated that Leiper would be placed on leave during the investigation and that it would have no further comment on the inquiry until it is completed.

“As many of you are aware, an anonymous letter was sent to the Board containing a number of allegations about NHA management, which the Board takes seriously,” the memo states. “This obviously involves personnel matters, and it is not appropriate for the Board or anyone else to discuss the details of any personnel matters at an open meeting.”

Allegations outlined

Among the allegations in the complaint are that Leiper “bypassed waitlists to place numerous people into housing.” In one case cited in the complaint, a tenant with whom she had a personal relationship was allegedly transferred to a two-bedroom apartment in the Florence Heights family housing complex, despite the tenant not being eligible for family housing. It states the tenant then moved into the home of Leiper and her husband, while continuing to lease the Florence Heights apartment. The letter states the apartment was eventually given to another family, but accuses Leiper of fabricating a retroactive notice of intent to vacate to make it appear the female tenant had left the apartment earlier than she actually had.

Also named in the complaint is a family member of Maureen Carney, the current president of the Housing Authority board. The compliant alleges that the family member was given housing without being placed on a waitlist, and that Leiper had unilaterally decided to house them despite Carney filing a conflict of interest form, requiring Leiper to instead forward the application to the EOHLC.

Carney did not respond to request for comment regarding this allegation.

Beyond accusing Leiper of favorable treatment of other tenants with personal ties to her, the complaint alleges Leiper created a “hostile work environment,” spent excessive time away from the office, and sexually harassed and mistreated staff. The complaint also alleges she backdated Housing Authority documents, hired a family member for a job that was not posted and had no other candidates, placed homeless people into housing upon request without proper vetting and bypassing waitlists, improperly used a company vehicle, and allegedly provided rent reductions for favored tenants.

“Across the board, staff is discontent and distressed with Ms. Leiper’s leadership,” the complaint states.

State responds

A spokesperson for the EOHLC confirmed that the office had received the complaint in January, and also provided a copy of a letter sent by EOHLC to the Housing Authority board that month, recommending that Leiper be placed on paid administrative leave and an impartial investigation be conducted. It also recommends that two board members, Carney and JoElla Tarbutton-Springfield, recuse themselves from oversight of the investigation. Though Tarbutton-Springfield is not named in the complaint, the EOHLC refers to her as a “witness and aggrieved person,” for the investigation in its letter to the NHA.

“EOHLC is reviewing the information contained in the complaint,” the letter states. “It is important, however, for the integrity of the housing authority that it also take immediate action based on the information in this complaint.”

Though an item appeared on the agenda in the NHA’s monthly meeting in January for an executive session related to the complaint, the board ultimately did not hold that meeting due to lacking a quorum from Carney and Tarbutton-Springfield’s recusal and with two vacant positions. The vacant positions were later filled via appointment by Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, allowing for a special meeting for the executive session to be held on March 13.

Sciarra, who appoints a majority of the Housing Authority’s commissioners, said in a statement to the Gazette: “I am aware of the investigation, and I hope its outcome serves the best interest of all Northampton Housing Authority residents.”

Interim replacement

The NHA oversees more than 600 housing units, including 40 units in Cummington and Huntington after absorbing the Hampshire County Regional Housing Authority in 2024. Leiper was hired to lead the Housing Authority in July 2015. Her tenure got off to a rocky start as she and the Board of Commissioners came under fire for Open Meeting Law violations and issues related to the termination of several longtime employees as part of an agency restructuring. Since then, she has taken the helm of the Easthampton and Hatfield housing authorities through a management agreement.

Leiper will be replaced in the interim by Matthew Mainville, who also serves as executive director of the Holyoke Housing Authority.

“The Board of Commissioners has entered into a temporary management agreement to appoint me as acting executive director in her [Leiper’s] absence,” Mainville wrote in a memo addressed to Housing Authority residents and staff. “[I] have 26 years of progressive housing experience. I have worked in management my entire career and look forward to working with you all.”

According to the Jan. 22 letter to the NHA Board of Commissioners from Ben Stone, undersecretary for public housing and rental assistance, the board was instructed to do the following:

■Place Leiper on paid administrative leave while an investigation is done. Use assigned legal council to assist NHA to comply with laws and regulations, including the Open Meeting Law and employment laws.

■Conduct an impartial investigation. EOHLC stated it is willing to provide $10,000 toward the costs of the investigation.

■Utilize assigned legal representation to help navigate the investigation of the complaint.

■Avoid conflicts of interest to ensure the integrity of the investigation. The EOHLC recommends two housing commissioners, Tarbutton-Springfield and Carney, not participate in the oversight of the investigation but have the opportunity to present their evidence to the investigator.

■Ensure compliance with the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act to protect employees who have raised the complaint from retaliatory actions. “The NHA must ensure that speculation regarding the individuals involved does not take place and that any interference, discipline or retaliation against individuals believed to be involved does not happen,” wrote Stone, from the EOHLC.

■Preserve evidence and implement an immediate “no destruction of records” policy and suspend any planned record archiving activity.

■Put insurers on notice of potential employment and liability claims.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.