New Medford Housing Authority Director Expected by January

A new executive director of the Medford Housing Authority should be appointed by the start of next year, according to a press release from Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn.

The authority's former director, Robert Covelle, resigned in May at the urging of Gov. Deval Patrick after a federal audit showed he handed out contracts without putting them out to public bid, and separate reports surfaced alleging he often hired family and friends and practiced favoritism in the office.

On Monday, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced an investigation that began last September had concluded and that Covelle had agreed to a

Covelle was appointed in 2009 with a recommendation from McGlynn, who issued a statement this week touting change at the authority, which is a separate government body from Medford's municipal government.

“The work has already begun to change, reform and re-energize the mission of public housing in Medford,” McGlynn said in a written statement.

Operation procedures at the authority have been subjected to a review by the University of Massachusetts' Collins Center. Officials at the center told McGlynn a new director should be hired by January 2013, the release said.