San Francisco Chief Quits Catholic Unit

After an investigation by Catholic Charities of San Francisco concluded that its chief executive officer, Frank C. Hudson, had “exercised poor judgment” in charging personal expenses to the non-profit organization, Mr. Hudson has resigned.

Archbishop William J. Levada, who is chairman of the Catholic Charities board, had appointed a committee to look into Mr. Hudson’s spending practices after newspaper reports appeared saying that he had spent $73,000 of the organization’s money over two years on gourmet meals, anti-wrinkle treatments, and laser hair removal.

The committee issued a report last month that said Mr. Hudson had “exercised poor judgment” and found his expense-account practices “inconsistent with the mission of Catholic Charities.”

Members of the committee said they had lost confidence in Mr. Hudson’s ability to lead the charity.

Mr. Hudson’s spending practices led a San Francisco city supervisor to call for an inquiry to determine whether any city funds the charity received had been misused (The Chronicle, July 13).

Mr. Hudson had been chief executive since 1992. During his tenure Catholic Charities more than doubled in size.