Now interim head of Housing Authority forced to step down *

Even though Mayor Villaraigosa's office now admits the boss approved the sweet golden parachute with Rudolf Montiel, interim Housing Authority chief Ken Simmons "is resigning at the Mayor's request," SoCal Connected reports online. The announcement came from the deputy mayor's chief of staff, Matt Szabo, who earlier in the day confirmed for KCET that Villaraigosa was involved in the Housing Authority's deal with Montiel. All it means, by the way, is that Simmons will go back to his old $300,000 job as chief operating officer, KCET says.

* Update: Controller Wendy Greuel applauds the move, in a statement just emailed.

My recent findings regarding the Housing Authority’s wasteful spending, double dipping and irresponsible expenditures, coupled with news that taxpayers footed a $1.2 million golden parachute to ousted Agency official Rudy Montiel underscore the need for a change at the top. Ken Simmons’ departure is an important first step in rehabilitating the Agency so it can focus on providing affordable housing for the poorest families in Los Angeles. I look forward to pursuing an expeditious top to bottom financial review of the Housing Authority.

Update to the update: Mayor's administration can't keep story straight on Montiel deal

KCET photo: Rudolf Montiel