U.S.

DEPARlMENI'

OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENI'

Fort Worth Regional Office, Region VI

Office of the Regional Administrator
801 Cherry Street, Unit 45, Suite 2500
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Phone (817) 978-5965 - Fax (817) 978~5567
www.hud.gov
.www.espanoI.hud.gov

DEC 21 20~6

Mr. Curtis Lockey

Sent via e-mail tocurtis@lockeygroup.com
Dear Mr. Lockey:
SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Act Request No.: 17-FI-R06-00315
This is in response to your December ~, 2016, email request for a copy of Dallas'
response to HUD's request for supporting documentation of roughly $30 million in HUD funds.
HUD is not able to provide you with this information ..
These documents are being withheld under Exemption 7(A) of the Freedom of
Information Act. Exemption 7(A) authorizes the withholding of "records or information
compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of such law
enforcement records or information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement
proceedings." The use of this exemption requires a two-step analysis focusing on (1) whether a
law enforcement proceeding is pending or prospective, and (2) whether release of information
about it could reasonably be expected to cause some articulable harm.
The Agency is currently reviewing the submission of some of the requested documents
and waiting for the City to send the remaining requested documents. Once this review is
completed, a determination if enforcement actions are necessary, including, but not lirllited to the
enforcement actions under 24 CFR Palt 570 and 24 CFR Part 92, Subpart L will be made. In
addition, depending on what the documents reveal, the Agency may consider other enforcement
actions under such other authorities, including, but not limited to 2 CFR Parts 180 and 2424.
Premature release of this information could reasonably be expected to undermine the
effectiveness of the Agency's investigation, could damage the Agency's ability to obtain
information, and could reveal the scope, direction and nature of the investigation.
If you are not satisfied with this outcome, you have the right to file an administrative
appeal within 90 days of the date of this letter. By filing an appeal, you preserve your rights
under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and reconsider your request and the
agency's decision. If you would like to discuss our response before filing an appeal in an attempt
to resolve your dispute without going through the appeals process, please feel free to contact my
office at the following address:

~
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'"
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Dev.elopment
Attention: Patricia Campbell, FOIA Liaison
801 Cherry Street, Unit #45, Ste 2500
Fort Worth, TX 76102
If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through my office, the Office of
Government Information Services (OGIS), the Federal FOIA Ombudsman's office, offers
mediation services to help resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. The
contact information for OGIS is:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road--OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
202-741-5770
1-877 -684-6448
If neither of these options leads to your desired outcome in this matter, you can still
formally appeal this determination within 90 days. Your appeal should include copies of your
original request and this response, as well as a discussion of the reasons supporting your
appeal. The envelope should be plainly marked to indicate that it contains a Freedom of
Information Act appeal. If you should decide to appeal, please send these documents to:
Office of FOIA Appeals
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Ethics and Personnel Law, ELD
451 7th Street SW, Room 2130
Washington, DC 20410

If you have any questions, please contact me at (817)978-5974 ..

Patricia Campbell
FOIA Liaison