Joseph Barry, a politically active builder whose luxury homes and shopping complexes have reshaped towns throughout New Jersey , admitted yesterday paying nearly $115,000 in bribes to win government financing for a project on the Hoboken waterfront… Barry told U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano, was a ""reward"" for Janiszewski's help in getting almost $10 million in government grants and loans for the Shipyard, a 45-acre riverfront housing and shopping complex in Hoboken. Unbeknownst to Barry, Janiszewski at the time was cooperating with the FBI after being caught taking bribes from another contractor.

On Sunday, borough police charged the contractor, Roger Louis Hemhauser, 54, with nine counts of theft, saying he has bilked borough residents out of approximately $200,000 since November. He took at least $98,000 more from residents in Edison and Woodbridge , according to police in those townships.

Quote of the year from president of the Fort Worth division for KB Home:
 ""There are a lot of happy homeowners,"" Christian added. ""(Homes) continue to sell at a fast pace."
Truly it can be said that KB made a Lemonade Empire out of Lemons that gave a “BOOM” to the homebuilding industry like creative Corporate America has never seen.  Corporate Welfare is alive and well in America.  See Fact Sheet - Southridge Hills subdivision.

SAHA faces giving back fed funds
The San Antonio Housing Authority must repay $1.86 million to the U.S. government and could be charged an additional $2.02 million, according to a federal audit of the Mirasol Homes public housing project. Details in the report released Tuesday suggest there was a sweetheart deal between SAHA and builder KB Home that went back to 1997, two years before the Mirasol contract was signed. The audit says $1.86 million must be returned because it was spent in mismanaging the contaminated landfill at Mirasol. The report also said SAHA violated state environmental laws. The $2.02 million was money spent on salaries the housing authority hasn't documented.

VA looks into Pulte Homes after complaint
The VA has also requested copies of other construction complaints received from homeowners in all Pulte subdivisions in the Houston area in which the foundation design has been used since 1999, according to HomeOwners for Better Building. HomeOwners is encouraging all Pulte homeowners with HUD/FHA and VA loans in the Houston area and throughout Texas with signs of foundation problems to send a certified letter to Pulte Homes and file a complaint with either the FHA or VA.

FREDDIE MAC PROMOTES CONSUMER CHOICE WITH NEW SUBPRIME MORTGAGE ARBITRATION POLICY
Freddie Mac announced today that effective August 1, 2004, it would no longer invest in subprime mortgages originated on or after that date that contain mandatory arbitration clauses. Freddie Mac is the first among secondary mortgage investors to adopt such a stance on subprime mortgages with mandatory arbitration clauses. This policy is aligned with the corporation’s existing prohibition on the use of mandatory arbitration for prime market mortgage investments.

Lawyer Says KB Contracts "Illegal"
The Donahues sued KB. But before they ever got their day in court, they learned that when they bought the house, they had signed away their right to sue the company. In fact, you may not realize it, but if you've recently bought a home from KB, you've also agreed never to take the company to court. Instead, you've agreed to resolve all warranty disputes through binding arbitration. That's where a third-party hears both sides, then makes a decision that is binding on both parties. "For consumers, it's not such a good idea," St. Mary's Law Professor L. Wayne Scott tells the Trouble Shooters, "because it tends to be controlled by the industry that writes the contract."

Homeowners Say Problems Not Disclosed
KB Home, the largest homebuilder in San Antonio, has been the target of protests from angry homeowners.  Now, the company is the subject of a News 4 WOAI TroubleShooters investigation..."If I'd have known it was a buy-back, there's no way we would've purchased the house," Diehl told the TroubleShooters."Nobody's going to buy my house for what I paid for it," Jesse Font told us. Font claims all of the windows in his home leak. Diehl showed us a crack that runs from his garage, through his house, to the back of his kitchen.  He was aware of the crack when he bought the house but says it's gotten worse.

Attorney knocks KB Home's suit
Arguing before the Third Court of Appeals on Wednesday, a former state chief justice challenged KB Home's attempt to restrain a Kyle couple from publicly protesting about their dissatisfaction with their home. Alice Oliver-Parrott, former chief justice of the First Court of Appeals, criticized a state district judge for granting what she called an overreaching, vague and unenforceable temporary restraining order.