On way out, housing chief cashed in

“When my investigator found these checks, he couldn’t believe his eyes,’’ said Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan. “The idea that he would be riding off into the sunset with a bag of cash is completely contrary to the interests of taxpayers.’’

The Chelsea Housing Authority offices at 54 Locke Ave. were swarming yesterday with nearly a dozen state and federal investigators, who found newly shredded documents. The agents from several agencies including Sullivan’s office and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seized computer hard drives and paperwork and quizzed employees.

McLaughlin has already confirmed that he took six boxes of materials from the office after the building had closed on Wednesday night, saying they were personal mementoes. However, he declined to allow a Globe reporter to look inside the boxes.

State officials issued a blanket order to the new interim director of the authority, Albert Ewing, to make no further payments of any kind to McLaughlin, who, until Thursday, may have been the highest-paid public housing official in the United States.

“The department hereby orders that the CHA immediately stop, suspend, cancel, and refrain from making any further payments of any kind to Michael McLaughlin, including any payments for sick or vacation leave or any other form of payment, no matter how categorized,’’ wrote Steven Carvalho, acting director of the state Department of Housing & Community Development.

Employees told investigators that the five-member housing authority board - two of whom have quit so far - had authorized the payments to McLaughlin at a hastily called meeting Thursday. McLaughlin posted notice of the meeting Monday, a day after the first Globe report about his salary.

Neither McLaughlin nor board chairman Henry Cordero returned calls seeking comment. On Wednesday, Patrick demanded the resignation of the entire board, including Cordero, who was his appointee. Cordero has so far refused to step down.