LIPSCOMB QUITS
Proclaims innocence; accusers increase
Robert Lipscomb resigned as director of Housing and Community Development late Monday, maintaining his innocence as additional allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.
His resignation was accepted by Mayor A C Wharton, effective immediately. A statement from Wharton’s office said “numerous individuals” had contacted his office and Police Director Toney Armstrong with accusations of “inappropriate sexual advances” by Lipscomb after he was relieved of duty by the city Sunday.
Wharton urged others to call CrimeStoppers at 528CASH. “Be assured that all will be investigated immediately and thoroughly.”
No charges have been filed against Lipscomb. His attorney, Ricky Wilkins, said Lipscomb would release a more detailed response in the days ahead. The resignation does not apply to his job as executive director of the Memphis Housing Authority, Wilkins said.
At the door of his home Monday, Lipscomb proclaimed his innocence but left some clues about the complaint that led to his investigation by police.
“Until the investigation concludes, there’s nothing more I can say,” said Lipscomb, declining further comment.
But he later told WREGTV he knows the man making the accusations, and that the man has been harassing him since 2008.
He also told FOX13 in an
interview that he will be exonerated of wrongdoing and said the accusations against him are “false, absolutely false.”
He conceded that he sent money to the man who accused him but said “it was to stop blackmail. I was afraid. He was going to come forward with wild accusations.”
Wilkins said he could not comment on Lipscomb’s mention of blackmail.
“He denies having any improper relationship with anybody,” Wilkins said Monday. “We’ll have to let this investigation be conducted, and we’ll respond accordingly.”
Wilkins continued: “I just want to make sure there’s no rush to judgment. ... Just like any other citizen, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
Lipscomb was placed on leave Sunday after a criminal complaint was filed by a man alleging sexual misconduct 10 years ago. City officials have not identified the complainant, now a 26-year-old living in Seattle. However, he told Memphis Police Department investigators he was 16 years old and homeless at the time of the alleged incident, according to a source close to the investigation.
The person making the complaint told police he received numerous wire transfers of cash from Lipscomb, allegedly to buy his silence, according to the source.
Lipscomb has not been charged. Memphis Police officers were at the Memphis Housing Authority on Monday executing a search warrant on his office, the source said.
Calling the allegations against Lipscomb “extremely disturbing,” Wharton said Monday that the city projects he has spearheaded “will keep going without missing a beat.”
Lipscomb has been the city’s point man in several major projects, including Bass Pro Shops’ opening at The Pyramid, the Fairgrounds redevelopment and the development of hundreds of housing units.
Lipscomb had been suspended from his HCD directorship and is expected to be suspended from his Memphis Housing Authority executive directorship, Wharton said. A city spokesperson said the suspension from HCD was without pay from his $124,367-a-year job. His MHA salary — nearly $136,000 annually — is paid by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, the spokesperson said.
Bill Stemmler, vice chairman of the MHA board of commissioners, said the board has yet to vote on whether to suspend Lipscomb.
A spokesman for District Attorney General Amy Weirich confirmed that her office has been made aware of the Memphis Police Department’s investigation. The city will conduct an internal audit into whether there was any financial impropriety as part of standard procedure, a city spokesperson said.
This wasn’t the first time allegations of sexual impropriety have surfaced against Lipscomb. He was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee of the Memphis Housing Authority in a 2005 federal lawsuit, but the lawsuit was dismissed after plaintiff Howard Terry didn’t respond to a motion to dismiss.