his post throughout both of Reagan's terms as President. On June 18, 1981 during a luncheon for the US Conference of Mayors in Washington DC, President Reagan mistook Pierce for one of the mayors on the dais, infamously greeting him, "Hello, Mr. Mayor." Due to his perceived low profile within the Reagan administration, he was sometimes derided as "Silent Sam." During Pierce's tenure, HUD appropriations for low-income housing were cut by nearly half and funding all but ended for new housing construction. According to several former aides and HUD employees, Pierce, uninterested in his job, would often delegate important decisions to advisors and would watch television in his office. Political scandal After leaving office, he was investigated by the United States Office of the Independent Counsel and the United States Congress over mismanagement, abuse and political favoritism that took place in the department during his tenure. These investigations found that under Pierce's stewardship the department engaged in political favoritism and trading of influence. Millions of dollars of federal government money was given to projects sought by connected politicians of both parties, in violation of rules governing such grants and expenditures. Through the 1990s many of Pierce's closest aides and confidants at the department were charged and convicted on felony charges related to the political favoritism and inappropriate expenditures that pervaded the department during Pierce's tenure (Thomas Demery, Phillip Winn, Joseph Strauss and Deborah Gore Dean). Pierce himself was not charged, however. Death Pierce died at the Holy Cross Hospital outside Washington, D.C., on October 31, 2000, at the age of 78. See also List of African-American United States Cabinet members Notes References External links Samuel Pierce biography Atlanta Journal-Constitution article from Pierce's tenure 1922 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American politicians African-American members of the Cabinet of the United States Cornell Law School alumni New York (state) Republicans New York University School of Law alumni Politicians from Glen Cove, New York Eisenhower administration personnel Reagan administration cabinet members Reagan administration controversies United States Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development United States Army personnel of World War II