Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: A Wish List for Santa
Cramer said first on his wish list is for Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to promise not to give a single cent of the TARP money to the homebuilders. The builders, he said, created this problem by building far too many homes and selling them to unqualified people. If the government gives any aid to the homebuilders, they'll only build even more homes and slow the recovery further.

Moment of triumph for whistle-blower takes a tragic turn
With her death, her impact as a whistle-blower takes on a poignant new dimension. Farmer's complaints to government officials about the federally funded home repair program and subsequent lawsuit helped trigger an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that led to a temporary shutdown of the program. Documents Farmer obtained through open records laws and a lawsuit showed that contractors in the home repair program routinely billed the city for excessive materials and for work that wasn't performed or was done poorly. HUD's inquiries into the program led the agency to discover improper spending in other federally funded city-housing programs, prompting a demand for repayment of $15.5 million. The city paid the first of five installments Dec. 1.

High-end Plano homebuilder suspends some operations
One of the Dallas area's best-known custom homebuilders has suspended some operations. Plano-based Sotherby Homes builds more than 300 houses a year that sell for between $300,000 and $500,000. This week, the company's Internet marketing sites weren't working, and some of its sales offices were idled. Almost two dozen North Texas homebuilders have gone out of business during the last two years because of declining sales and reduced construction. Total housing starts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year were less than half what they were in 2006.

Builder heads back to federal pen for violating parole
A federal judge sentenced former metro-east home builder Joseph "J.D." Castellano to a year in jail on Monday after he found Castellano violated his parole. Castellano served an 8-year prison sentence on wire-fraud charges in connection with leaving 27 homes unfinished and costing customers, contractor and a local bank more than $1.85 million. Federal probation officers asked to revoke Castellano's parole after they said he worked for Marion Truss. The terms of his release bar him from working in the construction business. "It's just like Yogi Berra said, 'Its deja vu all over again,'" said U.S. District Judge David Herndon. "... It appears that Mr. Castellano has not gotten the message."

PA couple claims stucco siding damaged home's structure
Danny and Joy Williams discovered cracks in the coating applied to the outside walls of their new home which caused water and moisture intrusion, according to the complaint filed Dec. 11 in Jefferson County District Court. All of the Williams' requests for Bill Lindsey Construction, the company that applied the coating, to look into the situation have been to no avail, the suit states. Because of the water and moisture intrusion, the structural integrity of the Williams' new house is in jeopardy, they claim.

Ex-Housing Official Charged
A former Bexar County Housing Authority board member has been charged in federal court with illegally taking more than $100,000 in contracts from a Dallas company that benefited from his position on the board. Carlos Madrid Jr. was charged Wednesday with deprivation of honest services, a charge that could bring up to 20 years in prison."It is my belief and assertion that Madrid defrauded the public of his honest services as an appointed official and misused his position as a commissioner on the Housing Authority of Bexar County ... to personally enrich himself in a series of transactions," wrote FBI Special Agent Fred Olivares in an affidavit.

EPA Reports Record Year For U.S. Polluters in 2008
A report released on Thursday showed that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement actions during the 2008 budget year resulted in a record $11.8 billion in pollution controls and projects to clean up the environment... Four U.S. home builders, Centex Homes, KB Home, Pulte Homes, and Richmond American Homes, agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $4.3 million to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act for delays or failures to obtain proper storm water permits for numerous construction sites.

JPMorgan Sues Homebuilders, Developer Over Nevada Project
The defendants include units of KB Home (KBH), Toll Brothers Inc (TOL), Meritage Homes Corp (MTH), Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) and Beazer Homes USA Inc (BZH). An affiliate of developer Focus Property Group Meritageand John Ritter , Focus Property Group's chief executive, also are defendants...Wachovia Corp. (WB) filed a similar lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in October against a group of builders and the developer of the other project, Kyle Canyon Gateway. Wachovia's banking unit was the administrative agent for the lenders on the Kyle Canyon project.

Americas Watchdog Wants to Talk to the Employees of Major U.S. Homebuilders About Undocumented Construction Workers and a Possible Reward
Americas Watchdog and its Wall Street Fraud Watchdog have been investigating the employment practices of the largest homebuilders in the US for five years, with the conclusion that millions of undocumented workers did most of the building. The problem: while most of the undocumented workers were classified as "sub-contractors", they were in fact full time employees, and they did not receive overtime, or other benefits afforded to US full time employees. According to the Wall Street Fraud Watchdog & the Homeowners Consumer Center, "if big US homebuilders think they are about to get a windfall from the US taxpayers, think again, its show & tell time. Start thinking about prison, if you are a large US residential homebuilder CEO, COO or CFO." Large US homebuilder superintendents or executives with substantial proof may be eligible for a significant reward. Large US homebuilder superintendents or executives can call the Wall Street Fraud Watchdog.

Signs of Public Housing Neglect
The story of board and care homes in Dallas is a tale of neglect and indifference. Though good homes exist, more have cropped up over the last two decades that are little better than flophouses for people with mental illness. Every level of government has some responsibility for overseeing these facilities. But until recently, they have shared little information or made much effort to try to ensure minimal standards. The Dallas Morning News spent much of the last year examining conditions in the homes and what officials in local, state and federal government are and aren't doing about them.
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