Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
In an agreement between prosecutors and government welfare programs, the husband of a lawmaker from Bristol Township settled his case at district court.
James Foster Davis, 60, of Bristol Township’s Croydon section, agreed Thursday before District Judge Frank Peranteau to repay about $33,000 to the Bucks County Housing Authority, Pennsylvania’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and a low-income tenant who previously lived in a home on Grant Avenue in Croydon. The home is co-owned by Davis and his wife, Democratic state senate candidate and State Rep. Tina Davis, who authorities did not charge or mention in court filings as being aware of the problem.
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James Davis’ attorney, Paul Lang, said his client also signed a form to agree to no longer take part in any federally-funded housing assistance programs.
“Mr. Davis is happy to have corrected his mistakes in a swift manner. He is pleased to have settled the manner and to have the charges against him dismissed,” Lang said.
Bucks County Detectives alleged in court documents filed earlier in September that James Davis accepted housing assistance funds that were paid through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, more commonly called Section 8, but did not follow the agreement to pay utility bills for the tenant living at the Grant Avenue home.
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The woman living in the Davis’ Grant Avenue property reportedly made payments with help from her family for her PECO bill but fell into arrears on the account. In June, she received a shut-off notice, according to court papers.
A caseworker from the Bucks County Housing Authority, which oversees federal low-incoming housing funds, discovered the tenant was having problems paying her PECO bill, noting the landlord was supposed to pay the bill. The matter was turned over to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General. In turn, federal investigators handed the investigation to county detectives.
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James Davis admitted to detectives that he did not follow the contract, court papers said.
Authorities said James Davis obtained more than $30,744 over several years through the program, authorities said.
