A review of the Vicksburg Housing Authority’s purchase orders and inventory lists over the past 15 months has not uncovered any federal funds misappropriated by Charles Jones Jr., the former Vicksburg Housing Authority supervisor arrested in December after police said he had 2.2 pounds of cocaine shipped to him at the VHA administrative office, officials said.

“We reviewed their purchase orders and looked at their inventory lists, and based on that review we determined no federal funds were used by (Jones) for personal purchases,” said Cassandra Terry, field office director for the Jackson Housing and Urban Development office, which oversees the Vicksburg organization. “They get additional resources in addition to ours, but as far as our resources are concerned we are satisfied at this point that none of the federal funds were misused.”

The $80,000 per month the VHA receives from rent paid on the roughly 430 homes and apartments it manages for low-income tenants constitutes a significant portion of its operating budget, said VHA Executive Director Jim Stirgus Sr. However, Stirgus said he could not compute the exact amount of federal funding received each year by the VHA due to a separate review of records taking place through Thursday. Terry confirmed an annual review of VHA records — which was scheduled before Jones’ arrest — is being conducted by a contracted company for HUD.

“That review is not related to the arrest of (Jones),” said Terry.

The review of VHA records conducted on Jan. 16 by HUD employees was triggered by Jones’ arrest and a subsequent search of his property by police, who said they uncovered upward of $80,000 worth of merchandise such as generators, tools and cleaning supplies — some of which had been shipped to the VHA office at 131 Elizabeth Circle. The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics seized much of the merchandise, as well as five vehicles, a dune buggy and a motorcycle.

“There was no conclusive evidence that HUD funds were used to purchase any of the items that were on the list provided by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics,” reads a letter from the Jackson HUD office provided by Stirgus.

At the time of Jones’ arrest, Vicksburg Police Chief Tommy Moffett said he believed Jones may have used his VHA position and funds to purchase some of the merchandise. While emphasizing he did not wish to refute any HUD findings, Moffett maintained “Charles Jones is a dope pusher and a thief. He’s been a dope pusher and thief for a long time and he has done a disservice to the housing authority,” upon hearing about the findings of the review.

Stirgus said he does not intend on doing an internal audit of VHA invoices and inventory at this time because “our procedure of purchasing is so foolproof that it’s just impossible to steal anything.”

When asked if he thought Jones had stolen from the housing authority, Stirgus said, “There’s absolutely no way.”

Stirgus, who has known Jones since the former VHA supervisor was in elementary school, said he is not entirely convinced Jones is guilty of the allegations being brought against him and is awaiting more evidence to be presented. Furthermore, Stirgus, a former public school superintendent, said he has been hurt by rumors of his involvement or knowledge about Jones’ alleged criminal activities.  

Jones, 45, 924 Bowman Ave., had worked for VHA since 1983 and had been in charge of maintenance, purchasing and receiving since 1991. He was arrested by MBN agents and local officers on Dec. 19, and was released from Warren County Jail on a $250,000 bond on Dec. 23. His case is not being presented to the grand jury now in session in Warren County. It is not known if the case file will be presented to the next grand jury, which is scheduled to convene on May 4. 

Terry said she did not anticipate the Jackson HUD office would conduct any investigation into VHA invoices or inventory dating back more than 15 months at this point.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com.