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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...,3147190.story

Mayor Sheila Dixon indicted
Counts of perjury, theft, misconduct in office among 12-count indictment

By Annie Linskey and Julie Bykowicz | and

9:01 PM EST, January 9, 2009

Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was charged today with 12 counts of felony
theft, perjury, fraud and misconduct in office, becoming the city's first
sitting mayor to be criminally indicted.

The case stems in part from at least $15,348 in gifts Dixon allegedly
received from her former boyfriend, prominent city developer Ronald H.
Lipscomb, while she was City Council president. She also is accused of
using as much as $3,400 in gift cards, some donated to her office for
distribution to "needy families," to purchase Best Buy electronics and
other items for herself and her staff.

Lipscomb was not indicted in the Dixon case, but he and City Councilwoman
Helen L. Holton were charged this week in a separate $12,500 bribery
scheme. Both cases grew out of a nearly three-year probe by the state
prosecutor into City Hall corruption.

The investigation has hung over Dixon, a Democrat, even as she became the
city's first female mayor and oversaw a significant decrease in the city's
homicide rate, reducing killings to a 20-year low. Viewed as an energetic
and charismatic leader, she has earned praise from residents for
implementing an easy-to-use recycling program and displaying a willingness
to tackle the city's systemic racial and economic disparities.

It is unclear what the indictment will mean for the mayor. She has pledged
to remain focused on her job, and many local officials rallied behind her
today. But even ceremonial events will take on new dimensions. Many
wondered today, for example, whether Dixon will appear with
president-elect Barack Obama next week when he makes a planned stop in the
city.

At a news conference today at her attorney's office in Clipper Mill near
Hampden, a composed Dixon said she was innocent.

"I will not let these charges deter me from keeping Baltimore on the path
that we have set, or from carrying forward the significant progress we
have made thus far," she said, reading a prepared statement. "I am being
unfairly accused. Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am
confident that I will be found innocent of these charges."

If convicted on all charges, the 55-year-old former teacher and mother of
two could be sentenced to 85 years in prison. The most serious charges,
two counts of felony theft, each carry a possible 15-year prison term.

Her attorney, Arnold M. Weiner, in a half-hour presentation carried live
on local television and designed to win over the court of public opinion,
accused those investigating the mayor of partisan motivations.

Weiner noted that State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh and former U.S.
Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio, who investigated her earlier, were appointed
by Republicans, and he accused Rohrbaugh of harboring an "obsession" in
pursuing the mayor.

"There wasn't a bedsheet he did not look under or a lead he found too
trivial to pursue personally," Weiner said.

The lawyer used courtroom exhibit-style poster boards to argue that Dixon
did not perjure herself by failing to include the Lipscomb gifts on her
city ethics forms, saying city code does not require disclosing gifts from
subcontractors, such as Lipscomb.

Using a red pen, he pointed to a city code provision that requires the
city's finance director to maintain a list of the companies doing business
with the city. Weiner said that the city has not kept that list. Staff at
the city's finance department could not be reached for comment by
deadline.

Rohrbaugh declined to respond to questions, and prosecutors would not say
whether their probe has ended. He said in a statement: "The public's trust
in their elected officials is essential to the proper functioning of
government."

The City Hall corruption probe dates to the fall of 2003, when federal
authorities subpoenaed five years' worth of financial records from all
City Council members. When that inquiry ended 18 months later with no
charges filed, Weiner said, Rohrbaugh began an investigation of his own.

That state investigation eventually spanned as many as nine Baltimore
grand juries. Weiner called it the longest and most expensive public
corruption investigation he had ever seen.

In the end, a Baltimore Circuit Court grand jury that expired today
returned a 31-page indictment of the mayor.

One theft charge involves misconduct in December 2007, when Dixon was
mayor. According to the indictment, a Baltimore housing employee purchased
Toys R Us gift cards to be distributed to underprivileged children during
a holiday event. Dixon allegedly gave one of those gift cards to a member
of her staff, and five others were discovered at her West Baltimore house
when investigators raided it in June.

Among other accusations: In 2004, 2005 and 2006, Dixon solicited gift
cards - to Target, Best Buy, Old Navy and Circuit City -- from two
developers. She then used some of the cards to purchase a PlayStation2
controller, a PlayStation Portable, a Samsung digital camcorder and other
items she either kept or gave to staff members as Christmas presents, the
indictment said.

Neither developer is named, and the state prosecutor refers to them as
Developer A and Developer B. Weiner identified Developer A as Lipscomb.
Another part of the indictment covers lavish presents from Lipscomb, whom
Dixon has said she dated briefly in late 2003 and early 2004. Those gifts
include a $2,000 furrier certificate that she used to buy a Persian lamb
coat and a "burnt umber mink coat"; $3,200 for a New York City trip that
included a stay at the Trump International Hotel; a $1,518 plane ticket
from Baltimore to Chicago; and thousands of dollars in cash to pay credit
card bills amassed during a swanky Chicago shopping spree.

The indictment also alleges that Lipscomb passed Dixon thousands of
dollars of cash - some of which she handed off to a staff member in a wad
of 40 $100 bills while being driven around the city. The staff member, who
is not named in the indictment, deposited the cash into his personal
checking account and paid part of Dixon's American Express bill, the
indictment says.

After the indictment was handed up, elected officials across the state
came out strongly in support of Dixon, with many saying they were praying
for her.

"I feel very sorry for her," said Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C.
Jessamy, a fellow Democrat. "She is a very hard worker. ... Based on what
I know and my relationship with her, I hope this is resolved quickly so
that she can continue conducting the business of the city."

City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake said in a statement
that the mayor "is an effective public servant who has worked tirelessly
for the citizens of Baltimore. I wish Mayor Dixon the best as this
difficult case continues and allegations are answered as part of the legal
process."

Gov. Martin O'Malley, who was mayor when some of the gifts were exchanged,
called it "a tough day for all of us who care about Baltimore's progress."

"It is my sincere hope that all of these long, drawn-out matters will soon
be resolved in a court of law once all the facts are known," he said.

Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat and influential leader in
Annapolis, said, "I did note that there was no charge that she was in any
way bribed. ... We now need to hear her side of the case."

The Maryland Republican Party released a statement saying the "culture of
corruption is rearing its head" among Maryland Democratic politicians.

Baltimore's ethics laws, which Dixon helped to write, ban city employees
from soliciting or accepting gifts from those who do business with the
city.

"A primary purpose of the yearly Financial Disclosure Forms is to
disclose, monitor and deter conflicts of interest, thereby maintaining
public confidence in the integrity of Baltimore's public officials,"
Rohrbaugh wrote in the indictment.

Over the course of the wide-ranging investigation, two people with ties to
Dixon have pleaded guilty, and state officials spent seven hours searching
the mayor's Hunting Ridge home in June.

Dixon came under intensified scrutiny after a Sun article in early 2006
revealed that she, as City Council president, used an investigative
hearing to pressure an official from Comcast to give more work to several
minority-owned firms, including a company that employed her sister.

Dixon also voted three times on awarding contracts to the company, Utech,
worth about $1 million.

In March 2008, the president of Utech, Mildred E. Boyer, pleaded guilty to
filing a false tax return and pledged cooperation with the state
prosecutor's investigation. None of the charges filed today involved
Utech, a fact noted by Dixon's attorney, who said the state prosecutor
wasted time and taxpayer money pursuing fruitless leads.

The Sun also reported in 2006 that Dixon's campaign chairman, Dale G.
Clark, received $600,000 over six years for developing a computer system
for the City Council.

For five of those years, Clark worked without a contract and was
instructed by Dixon's chief of staff to bill the city in increments below
$5,000, an amount that does not require approval from the city's Board of
Estimates.

In September 2007, Clark pleaded guilty to three counts of failure to file
tax returns and is cooperating with a broader investigation. Today's
indictment also had no mention of Clark.

Mr L. Atwater

On 2009-01-09 21:44:02 -0600, "Libby Loo" said:

HOPEFULLY, she will become friends with all of the republicans she
meets while she is there. Then teach this bipartisonship skill to
others. I only hope they don't help her refine her skills of theft.
Sorry couldn't resist

"Libby Loo" wrote in message
...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...,3147190.story

Mayor

Sheila Dixon indicted
Counts of perjury, theft, misconduct in office among 12-count indictment

By Annie Linskey and Julie Bykowicz | and

9:01 PM EST, January 9, 2009

Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was charged today with 12 counts of
felony theft, perjury, fraud and misconduct in office, becoming the
city's first sitting mayor to be criminally indicted.

The case stems in part from at least $15,348 in gifts Dixon allegedly
received from her former boyfriend, prominent city developer Ronald H.
Lipscomb, while she was City Council president. She also is accused of
using as much as $3,400 in gift cards, some donated to her office for
distribution to "needy families," to purchase Best Buy electronics and
other items for herself and her staff.

Lipscomb was not indicted in the Dixon case, but he and City
Councilwoman Helen L. Holton were charged this week in a separate
$12,500 bribery scheme. Both cases grew out of a nearly three-year
probe by the state prosecutor into City Hall corruption.

The investigation has hung over Dixon, a Democrat, even as she became
the city's first female mayor and oversaw a significant decrease in the
city's homicide rate, reducing killings to a 20-year low. Viewed as an
energetic and charismatic leader, she has earned praise from residents
for implementing an easy-to-use recycling program and displaying a
willingness to tackle the city's systemic racial and economic
disparities.

It is unclear what the indictment will mean for the mayor. She has
pledged to remain focused on her job, and many local officials rallied
behind her today. But even ceremonial events will take on new
dimensions. Many wondered today, for example, whether Dixon will appear
with president-elect Barack Obama next week when he makes a planned
stop in the city.

At a news conference today at her attorney's office in Clipper Mill
near Hampden, a composed Dixon said she was innocent.

"I will not let these charges deter me from keeping Baltimore on the
path that we have set, or from carrying forward the significant
progress we have made thus far," she said, reading a prepared
statement. "I am being unfairly accused. Time will prove that I have
done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of
these charges."

If convicted on all charges, the 55-year-old former teacher and mother
of two could be sentenced to 85 years in prison. The most serious
charges, two counts of felony theft, each carry a possible 15-year
prison term.

Her attorney, Arnold M. Weiner, in a half-hour presentation carried
live on local television and designed to win over the court of public
opinion, accused those investigating the mayor of partisan motivations.

Weiner noted that State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh and former U.S.
Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio, who investigated her earlier, were
appointed by Republicans, and he accused Rohrbaugh of harboring an
"obsession" in pursuing the mayor.

"There wasn't a bedsheet he did not look under or a lead he found too
trivial to pursue personally," Weiner said.

The lawyer used courtroom exhibit-style poster boards to argue that
Dixon did not perjure herself by failing to include the Lipscomb gifts
on her city ethics forms, saying city code does not require disclosing
gifts from subcontractors, such as Lipscomb.

Using a red pen, he pointed to a city code provision that requires the
city's finance director to maintain a list of the companies doing
business with the city. Weiner said that the city has not kept that
list. Staff at the city's finance department could not be reached for
comment by deadline.

Rohrbaugh declined to respond to questions, and prosecutors would not
say whether their probe has ended. He said in a statement: "The
public's trust in their elected officials is essential to the proper
functioning of government."

The City Hall corruption probe dates to the fall of 2003, when federal
authorities subpoenaed five years' worth of financial records from all
City Council members. When that inquiry ended 18 months later with no
charges filed, Weiner said, Rohrbaugh began an investigation of his own.

That state investigation eventually spanned as many as nine Baltimore
grand juries. Weiner called it the longest and most expensive public
corruption investigation he had ever seen.

In the end, a Baltimore Circuit Court grand jury that expired today
returned a 31-page indictment of the mayor.

One theft charge involves misconduct in December 2007, when Dixon was
mayor. According to the indictment, a Baltimore housing employee
purchased Toys R Us gift cards to be distributed to underprivileged
children during a holiday event. Dixon allegedly gave one of those gift
cards to a member of her staff, and five others were discovered at her
West Baltimore house when investigators raided it in June.

Among other accusations: In 2004, 2005 and 2006, Dixon solicited gift
cards - to Target, Best Buy, Old Navy and Circuit City -- from two
developers. She then used some of the cards to purchase a PlayStation2
controller, a PlayStation Portable, a Samsung digital camcorder and
other items she either kept or gave to staff members as Christmas
presents, the indictment said.

Neither developer is named, and the state prosecutor refers to them as
Developer A and Developer B. Weiner identified Developer A as Lipscomb.
Another part of the indictment covers lavish presents from Lipscomb,
whom Dixon has said she dated briefly in late 2003 and early 2004.
Those gifts include a $2,000 furrier certificate that she used to buy a
Persian lamb coat and a "burnt umber mink coat"; $3,200 for a New York
City trip that included a stay at the Trump International Hotel; a
$1,518 plane ticket from Baltimore to Chicago; and thousands of dollars
in cash to pay credit card bills amassed during a swanky Chicago
shopping spree.

The indictment also alleges that Lipscomb passed Dixon thousands of
dollars of cash - some of which she handed off to a staff member in a
wad of 40 $100 bills while being driven around the city. The staff
member, who is not named in the indictment, deposited the cash into his
personal checking account and paid part of Dixon's American Express
bill, the indictment says.

After the indictment was handed up, elected officials across the state
came out strongly in support of Dixon, with many saying they were
praying for her.

"I feel very sorry for her," said Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia
C. Jessamy, a fellow Democrat. "She is a very hard worker. ... Based on
what I know and my relationship with her, I hope this is resolved
quickly so that she can continue conducting the business of the city."

City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake said in a statement
that the mayor "is an effective public servant who has worked
tirelessly for the citizens of Baltimore. I wish Mayor Dixon the best
as this difficult case continues and allegations are answered as part
of the legal process."

Gov. Martin O'Malley, who was mayor when some of the gifts were
exchanged, called it "a tough day for all of us who care about
Baltimore's progress."

"It is my sincere hope that all of these long, drawn-out matters will
soon be resolved in a court of law once all the facts are known," he
said.

Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat and influential leader in
Annapolis, said, "I did note that there was no charge that she was in
any way bribed. ... We now need to hear her side of the case."

The Maryland Republican Party released a statement saying the "culture
of corruption is rearing its head" among Maryland Democratic
politicians.

Baltimore's ethics laws, which Dixon helped to write, ban city
employees from soliciting or accepting gifts from those who do business
with the city.

"A primary purpose of the yearly Financial Disclosure Forms is to
disclose, monitor and deter conflicts of interest, thereby maintaining
public confidence in the integrity of Baltimore's public officials,"
Rohrbaugh wrote in the indictment.

Over the course of the wide-ranging investigation, two people with ties
to Dixon have pleaded guilty, and state officials spent seven hours
searching the mayor's Hunting Ridge home in June.

Dixon came under intensified scrutiny after a Sun article in early 2006
revealed that she, as City Council president, used an investigative
hearing to pressure an official from Comcast to give more work to
several minority-owned firms, including a company that employed her
sister.

Dixon also voted three times on awarding contracts to the company,
Utech, worth about $1 million.

In March 2008, the president of Utech, Mildred E. Boyer, pleaded guilty
to filing a false tax return and pledged cooperation with the state
prosecutor's investigation. None of the charges filed today involved
Utech, a fact noted by Dixon's attorney, who said the state prosecutor
wasted time and taxpayer money pursuing fruitless leads.

The Sun also reported in 2006 that Dixon's campaign chairman, Dale G.
Clark, received $600,000 over six years for developing a computer
system for the City Council.

For five of those years, Clark worked without a contract and was
instructed by Dixon's chief of staff to bill the city in increments
below $5,000, an amount that does not require approval from the city's
Board of Estimates.

In September 2007, Clark pleaded guilty to three counts of failure to
file tax returns and is cooperating with a broader investigation.
Today's indictment also had no mention of Clark.

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