Oh, we know that this still leaves our state far behind perennial contenders such as Illinois and Louisiana when it comes to public corruption issues, but please consider this effort as our contribution.
Mayor Dixon was indicted on 12 counts today -- fraud, theft, misconduct -- you know, the usual laundry list associated with political figures who have their fingers in the till and consider themselves beyond the reach of prosecutors and grand juries.
Oops.
I'm not sure I have a particular favorite among the counts yet, but I think #6 --
Count 6 — Theft: Stealing gift cards worth more than $500 donated to Office of City Council President that she had solicited from Developer A for needy and underprivileged families in Baltimore, and using them for her own benefit, between Dec. 18, 2006, and Dec. 6, 2007.
-- has got to be a contender.
More details below.
The Baltimore Sun is primary source for all the information coming out today, so let me refer you to these items:
First, there's the List of charges.
Then there's the Timeline.
And then there's all the previous investigations and indictments.
The story itself is rather tangled (hardly surprising) and appears to consist of several independent issues woven together. The highlight of those may be Mayor Sheila Dixon's relationships with Developer A and Developer B, both of whom show up in the indictment a few times. One developer is Ronald H. Lipscomb, who was himself indicted earlier this week on bribery charges, and who -- by the way -- was dating Dixon during 2003-2004 while he was simultaneously...wait for it...I said, wait for it...lobbying the city of Baltimore for some major tax breaks on various development projects. Also indicted in connection with this mess: City Councilwoman Helen Holton: bribery, malfeasance, perjury, etc.
Another highlight -- from the Baltimore Sun's coverage:
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.
Then we get to the Developer B thread, where we start to find various things related to gift cards and various favors rendered.
And then there's still more about the use of gift cards that were intended for others -- like the one I mentioned above, as well as:
Count 7 — Theft: During December 2007, stealing gift cards provided to her from Baltimore City Housing Department to distribute to needy families, and converting them to personal use.
It's too early to feel the pulse of the city on all this, but my guess is that the garden-variety corruption could probably get a pass -- it's the gift card fiasco, involving far less money, that's going to resonate with the public. Baltimore is a gritty, tough city but has a certain attitude about taking care of its own -- and taking toys out from under the Christmas trees of poor kids is something many people can immediately understand in a visceral way.
Do I even need to quote Dixon's statement? No, I didn't think so.
Update #1: Here's a link to the full text of the indictment (PDF).
Update #2: HuffPost's Ben Nuckols points out some juicy details including:
The indictment against Dixon does not name Ronald H. Lipscomb, a prominent developer who briefly dated the mayor and who was indicted Wednesday on one charge of bribing a City Council member. But Weiner confirmed Lipscomb was "Developer A" mentioned in the indictment who showered the mayor with gifts and took several lavish trips with her in late 2003 and early 2004.
Both were married at the time, although they were separated from their spouses. Dixon has since divorced.
The indictment describes Dixon taking money from Lipscomb and using it to buy expensive gifts - two fur coats and high-end skin products, for example - all while pampering herself with trips to New York City, Chicago and Colorado with stays at lavish hotels.