The former executive director of the Watertown Housing Authority in Massachusetts was forced to step down after it was revealed he’d stolen thousands of taxpayer dollars from the organization to renovate the bathroom in his home.
From 2019 to 2025, Michael Lara served as the executive director of the Watertown Housing Authority, which manages affordable public housing in the community and primarily serves low-income, disabled, and elderly populations.
According to a criminal complaint filed against him in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Lara used organization credit cards to fund a home renovation project.
Prosecutors say in 2023, he purchased around $6,200 in supplies to renovate a bathroom in his Norwood home—including a $1,600 double-vanity sink at Home Depot and additional purchases at a local bathroom showroom totaling around $3,100…