Lavish Spending, Little Reward

"There was absolutely no oversight whatsoever," school board President Peggy Cooper Cafritz said. She said she had warned a city official not to rely on Prioleau, whom she called a "talented hustler" who oversold what he could accomplish.

Prioleau declined to discuss many specifics but said he had helped the city and had done nothing improper. "I have met the requirements of every grant that I have been part of," he said in an interview. In an e-mail, he added: "We worked . . . to move people . . . where they could become contributing individuals to their community and to their families. We were successful and did a lot of good."

Successful Start

Prioleau, 55, a heavyset, gregarious man, founded his tiny nonprofit organization -- the Foundation for Educational Innovation Inc. -- in 1993. He had left an 18-year marketing career at IBM and set up shop in his Mitchellville home and an office on G Street NW.

For a time, he drew glowing publicity. His ability to find corporate sponsors for his work helping low-income families was touted by his supporters as a national model. He was passionate, speaking often of his desire to close the "digital divide" that separates the poor and the wealthy.

"My take is that Archie is a wonderfully motivated, well-intentioned, marvelous guy, but . . . his vision was bigger than his capacity to deliver," said Alice M. Rivlin, an early supporter of Prioleau's and a former member of the congressionally appointed board that controlled District finances for six years.

To reach his goals, Prioleau forged relationships with people who would become crucial to his landing city contracts. He donated cash to politicians pivotal to his projects.

His vice president at the nonprofit organization had previously worked for Marion Barry, when he was the District's mayor. And Prioleau dressed up his board with well-connected names, such as William Rumsey Jr., former chief of staff to D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp.

"He was everyone's favorite friend," Rumsey said.

Prioleau also built a key relationship with then-D.C. Council member Charlene Drew Jarvis, who was also president of Southeastern University, a position she still holds. Jarvis was an adviser to Prioleau's planned computer training center, records show, and her university lists itself as a co-founder of DC Link and Learn. In 1998, the university named Prioleau to its board and months later advanced his nonprofit group $50,000 for additional space it could use at his new facility.

Shortly after Prioleau applied for the funds, Jarvis wrote a note pushing the housing agency to speed funding to him. Jarvis made it official by signing the $1.7 million grant paperwork on the council's behalf. The project was also approved by the financial control board.

In an interview, Jarvis said her role in approving the grant was not a conflict because Southeastern did not receive grant funds. "We simply occupied space in the center," she said.

Bad Spending

Over the years, indications that Prioleau was a risky investment for the District were accumulating in public records.