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November 15, 2002
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Minneapolis housing commissioner resigns after drug charge
MINNEAPOLIS
(AP)- A Minneapolis public housing commissioner has resigned after
taking
marijuana into a state prison where he volunteered as a religious
worker.
Steven
D. Chapman pleaded guilty last month to a felony charge of introducing
contraband into a prison. His Nov. 6 resignation letter was released
this week
by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority.
Chapman,
51, served on the housing board and its predecessor agency since 1986.
He was a
City Council appointee to the part-time position. Board
members serve part time and are paid $55 per meeting.
Chapman
is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 in Washington County District Court.
According
to a complaint, the brother of an inmate gave Chapman marijuana inside
a
balloon wrapped with electrical tape. Chapman
was to give the package to the inmate in the
yard of the Oak
Heights Prison.
But
the Minnesota Gang Strike Force was informed about the drug-smuggling
deal
during another investigation and obtained a search warrant. When
Chapman was
asked if he had drugs, he pulled the package from a rear pocket, the
complaint
said.
The
public housing agency runs an anti-drug, anti-gang program aimed at
youth
living in public housing. The agency also evicts dozens of residents
annually
for illegal drug use and related criminal activity.
In
his November 6th resignation letter, released
this week by the
Housing Authority, Chapman said that he was confident a trial would
have
vindicated him but that he pleaded guilty because "I did not want to
further place my family in potential harm." His attorney, Edward
Simonet,
declined to elaborate.
Chapman
also worked as an American Indian education administrator for the
Minneapolis
public schools. The school district
brought disciplinary action against him in July, which he later
challenged,
according to Michael Goar, a district human resources administrator. Chapman has not been paid by the district
since. Goar declined to give details
about the discipline.
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