Is Mayor Dixon Going Down?

Unfree State

A spokesman for Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon confirmed with the Sun that the state prosecutor’s office had “several people at the mayor’s house” this morning.

Dixon’s spokesman added that he did not know why they were there and that the Mayor was home when they came knocking at her door at 6:30 a.m.

According to an update by the Sun, state and city police emerged from the house about 1:45 p.m. with several boxes, folders and a blue cooler they had brought with them earlier.

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This could be the final stage of an investigation by the state prosecutor’s office of buying irregularities at City Hall that have prompted prosecutors to request information from a major Dixon contributor and the city’s development agency.

A few years ago, Dixon was found not to have disclosed the fact that her sister worked for a company that Dixon went to bat for when she was president of the city council.

Although there were no criminal charges, there was an ethics probe. With condemnations only coming from the press, Dixon’s peers and supporters implied there was a grand conspiracy against Baltimore City behind the charges.

Bottom line: even though it was found that Dixon didn’t disclose the conflict of interest, the ethics board still ruled she had done nothing wrong!

Nonetheless, the investigation has yielded two guilty pleas. One was related to a firm that employed Dixon’s sister and a second was related to $500,000 the city paid Dixon’s former campaign chairman for work a Dixon aide performed –even though the aide didn’t have a contract.

Now it appears that state prosecutors’ probe of Dixon’s dealings is heating up again.

This comes a day after State Sen.Ulysses Currie sent a letter to the Maryland State Board of Elections asking whether it would be legal for him to pay legal bills with campaign funds, according to the Sun.

G-men raided Currieā€™s home last week and seized financial records, business cards, personal planners and documents from Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, according to court filings. In evidence recovery logs released by federal prosecutors, agents also reported that marijuana and drug packaging materials were taken from a room in Currie’s home in District Heights, according to the Sun.

While no formal charges have been brought against either Dixon or Currie as of yet, just the fact that state and federal prosecutors are scrutinizing their questionable dealings is encouraging news for those of us who believe in transparent and honest government.

What do you think?

Crossposted on Unfree State