Council members have until tomorrow to turn over five years of records to U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio’s office, which issued apparently identical subpoenas dated Sept. 11, two days after the city’s primary election.
Some legal experts say the subpoenas – a copy of which was obtained yesterday by The Sun – indicate that a grand jury investigation is in an early stage.
Representatives of DiBiagio’s office said they do not comment on investigations or subpoenas.
At least eight council members have received subpoenas, according to interviews and sources in city government. Some others say they haven’t been served one, and the remainder could not be reached for comment.
Some members of the all-Democratic council said that DiBiagio, a Republican appointed by President Bush, is engaging in a political “witch hunt” fueled by articles in The Sun.
The newspaper reported in July that 10 of the council’s 19 members have hired relatives, and all have accepted free passes to Arrow Parking garages. Nearly all said they also received passes to events at the Baltimore Zoo, 1st Mariner Arena and The Senator Theatre.
“It’s all racially motivated,” Councilman Bernard C. “Jack” Young said, contending that nepotism and council perks didn’t raise eyebrows until the council became majority black.
“We haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “They’re not going to find anything.”
The city’s Board of Ethics issued opinions this week that three council members violated ethics law by hiring siblings as assistants and that all 19 members erred ethically by accepting free passes from Arrow Parking, which is seeking a tax break from the city.
The council members who said they have received subpoenas are: Kwame Osayaba Abayomi, Pamela V. Carter, Robert W. Curran, Kenneth N. Harris Sr., Melvin L. Stukes and Young. A source said Agnes Welch, who is in Rome on a city-sponsored trip, also received a subpoena. Lois A. Garey said she did not receive one, but The Sun obtained a copy with her name. (Some subpoenas were sent to the wrong council members, apparently because of clerical errors in the U.S. Attorney’s office, several council members said.) All of those council members employ relatives, or, in Stukes’ case, a goddaughter.
Council Members Stephanie C. Rawlings Blake, Nicholas C. D’Adamo Jr., Helen L. Holton, Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., Catherine E. Pugh, Edward L. Reisinger and Rochelle “Rikki” Spector said they had not received subpoenas. They do not employ relatives.
Four council members could not be reached for comment: Paula Johnson Branch, John L. Cain and Council President Sheila Dixon, who all employ relatives; and Lisa Joi Stancil, who does not. All council members received parking passes and other perks.
The subpoenas ask council members for “all documents” concerning financial, political and professional dealings dating back five years. These include:
Andrew C. White, a former federal prosecutor who has no connection to the investigation, said the subpoena suggests the inquiry’s scope is broad.
“It appears that they are looking for any and all potential conflicts with respect to the City Council,” White said. “It’s very broad but those are precisely the things you want to look at when you’re investigating corruption – who is lending you money?”
Another former federal prosecutor, who has investigated organized crime and public corruption in New York and Pennsylvania, said the information requested by DiBiagio could indicate a bribery or extortion investigation.
“If a benefit is being provided by a company to a public official, one of the scenarios that has to be considered by an investigator is whether or not that public official is in effect extorting those benefits,” said George Parry of Davis, Parry, Tyler & Wright in Philadelphia.
‘The beginning’
Another former federal prosecutor, Gregg L. Bernstein, now a defense lawyer, said the investigation appears to be in an early stage.
“It should be emphasized that the fact that the U.S. Attorney’s office would issue subpoenas does not mean they have any evidence,” Bernstein said. “[Subpoenas] are an investigatory tool that the U.S. Attorney’s office uses to ascertain if a criminal action has taken place – it is not the end, it is the beginning.”
Councilman Curran compared the inquiry to the recently revealed FBI bugging of Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street’s office, which has hampered the Democrat’s re-election campaign.
“It’s a witch hunt targeting individuals,” Curran said. “It reminds me of Philadelphia. Maybe it’s the same crew from Philadelphia.”
Vickie LeDuc, a spokeswoman for DiBiagio, declined to comment on claims that the probe is politically driven.
The council has been dogged by allegations of nepotism and questionable gifts since the newspaper report in July.
Board findings
The ethics board found that the three council members who hired siblings – Dixon, Carter and Cain – violated ethics law and should fire their relatives to comply. The hiring of other relatives did not violate the law, but the board has proposed expanding the list of relatives who cannot be hired.
The board also said all council members should return their Arrow Parking passes, an action the elected officials have taken.
The ethics board also questioned the acceptance of free passes to the zoo, the 1st Mariner Arena and Senator Theatre because all three are affected to some degree by council decisions. For example, in April the council approved a bill that allowed billboards to be installed on the city-owned arena despite a general ban on such signs.
Baltimore Blast owner Hale pushed for the billboards to help him raise money to offset the financial losses of his soccer team, a prime arena occupant. Hale and billboard company Clear Channel could reap $1.2 million to $1.7 million a year selling ads on the billboards, industry experts have predicted. The city will probably not see any proceeds from the arrangement.
Hale also obtained the naming rights to the arena by paying the city $75,000.
Hale said he had not received a subpoena and he had not known about it until yesterday, when called by a reporter.
“I don’t know why my name is on it. I don’t know what my rights are, but I’d like to see it,” said Hale, adding that the billboard and the naming rights processes were public. “It was out there in full public view.”
Greenwald, vice president of Arrow Parking, also said he had not received a subpoena. He had no further comment.
Curran said he was upset that the subpoena demanded information on all loans, which he found intrusive. Assuming prosecutors want to know if anyone has a special deal from 1st Mariner, the subpoena could have simply asked for documents related to that bank, he said.
“The peculiar thing is, they wanted mortgages. They want lines of credit, car loans. Come on. I think that’s overstepping. … Who doesn’t have a mortgage? Who doesn’t have a car loan? These types of things are just normal things people have in their everyday lives.”
Councilman Harris said he was puzzled by the inquiry.
“I’m not sure what the angle is, what they’re trying to find out,” he said.
“For me, to have to disclose who my mortgage company is, I think that’s a little personal,” he added. “But I’m complying with the grand jury.”
Garey said the U.S. Attorney should forget about the City Council and start prosecuting more gun crimes in the city.
“I have a [1st Mariner Arena] pass that I have never used,” she said. “I did let the Highlandtown Little League use it for a year. But is that going to change how I deal with the arena? I don’t think so.”
Stukes said he received the subpoena and was not too upset by it.
“I’ve been a tax auditor before. I’m used to unnecessary paperwork,” he said. “I did not knowingly do anything wrong so I don’t have any problem with this.”
Carter said she did not intentionally seek to violate the ethics law by hiring her brother. “I’m not making excuses but I honestly did not know,” Carter said. “This is giving the council a really bad name.”