SLUMLORD BROWN?

Commerce Secretary Ron Brown reaped $175,000 in tax breaks from his $71,000 investment in a Maryland apartment complex that has been declared partly "unfit for human habitation," the Los Angeles Times reports. The 150-unit complex, which defaulted on a $6.1 million state loan for renovations, had drawn little attention onBrown's financial disclosure reportsbecause he indicated it was in upscale Potomac, instead of the poorer D.C. beltway town of Landover where it is actually located, according to the Times. The Justice Department and Congress already are investigating several other business relationships of Brown's, including his income from a firm that defaulted on a $24 million loan. Brown's spokeswoman said he has been a passive investor in the Maryland apartment complex since 1983 and had not known where it was located.