Twice-Suspended Florida Housing Director Resigns

The head of Florida’s housing authority resigned Thursday following accusations he had created a hostile work environment.

Mike DiNapoli’s exit from his post as executive director of the Florida Housing Finance Corp. came one day before the organization's board was set to vote to fire or reinstate him, the Miami Herald reported. The resignation caps a tumultuous tenure that lasted less than a year and included an inspector general’s investigation into his management of the corporation.

DiNapoli was placed on leave in July by the agency’s board of directors pending the outcome of the investigation. Gov. Ron DeSantis overruled the board and reinstated DiNapoli, but he was suspended again in September after the inspector general, Chris Hirst, presented his findings to the board. 

Employees at FHFC told the inspector general that DiNapoli created a hostile workplace by screaming at staff, making sexist comments, talking about employees’ weight and threatening their jobs, according to the Herald. 

A number of key employees left during DiNapoli’s tenure at the agency, which has more than 130 employees and is responsible for managing state and federal funding for housing programs. 

Fifteen employees were either fired by DiNapoli or quit, according to the Herald. He fired Hugh Brown, the longtime general counsel who also served as chief ethics officer, and Sheila Freaney, the organization's board liaison. Betty Zachem, who took over as general counsel following Brown’s departure, resigned in early August. 

The shake-up at FHFC comes as the organization is preparing to distribute $711M in loans allocated for affordable housing development as part of Florida’s Live Local Act, a law that went into effect July 1 and is meant to spur the construction of lower-cost housing in the state. 

FHFC’s press secretary didn't respond to Bisnow’s request for comment. 

FHFC board members on Friday voted unanimously to accept the findings of and close the investigation into DiNapoli and approve Angie Sellers, the corporation’s longtime chief financial officer, as acting executive director, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. She has held the role since DiNapoli’s initial suspension. 

Following DiNapoli’s second suspension, a spokesperson for DeSantis characterized the FHFC board, which was appointed by the governor, as “incapable of exercising prudent judgment” and part of the “deep state,” the Tallahassee Democrat reported. 

“It is clear to us that this board can barely function, has no grasp or understanding of basic laws, including due process, and has no ability to sort fact from fiction,” he wrote in a statement to the publication.

DiNapoli, 54, was selected to lead the FHFC in February after the resignation of Harold “Trey” Price, who was appointed to the role in 2017 by then-Gov. Rick Scott. Prior to taking the executive director position, DiNapoli spent five years at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, which was folded into the state’s newly formed Department of Commerce in May. 

He had spent years in the private sector working in wealth management in New York City. DiNapoli lost his job at the financial services firm UBS after a customer accused him of stealing her money and forging her name on a check, according to a Herald report published following his initial suspension.

DiNapoli moved on to another financial services firm but faced a series of legal actions relating to his personal life, the Herald reported. His wages were garnished by American Express and New York City Athletic Club over outstanding balances. His 10-acre Ocala home was moved into foreclosure in 2015, and he declared bankruptcy in 2017, claiming he had less than $50K in assets and between $500K and $1M in liabilities.

In 2019, a New York court ordered him to repay $1.4M to UBS that had been part of a signing bonus.