Head of US realtors association resigns after receiving blackmail threat

A threat to blackmail the president of the US’s National Association of Realtors has forced her to resign from the organization which bills itself as the largest professional trade group in the country, she announced on Monday.

Tracy Kasper’s abrupt resignation from the presidency of a realtors association that counts on 1.5 million members comes during a particularly turbulent time in the organization’s history – her predecessor stepped down months earlier when confronted with sexual harassment claims.

A statement on Monday from the realtors association recounted how Kasper had informed the group’s leadership that she “recently received a threat to disclose a past personal, non-financial matter unless she compromised her position”.

“She refused to do so and instead reported the threat to law enforcement,” the association’s statement said.

Nonetheless, Kasper said “it was best for the organization that she step down,” the statement added.

“As president and a long-time member … I always have put the interests of [the association] first,” read a statement attributed to Kasper. “As a result of the recent threat and given the significance of this moment for myself, my family and the organization, it is again time for me to put the interests of [the association] first. So, it is with a mix of gratitude and a heavy heart that I submit my resignation as … president effective immediately.”

The association named Kevin Sears, a broker from Springfield, Massachusetts, as Kasper’s successor.

The members of the association – which touts a strict code of ethics – participate in the residential and commercial real-estate industries. CNN Business has previously reported that the association is powerful, with more than $1bn in assets as well as