I mean, we shouldn’t be shocked, right? Baltimore is a city notorious for corruption. Their most recent mayor had to step down over such antics. And with a new mayoral election this, half of the candidates running have face criminal charges (via Fox 45 News):
FOX45 began to look into the backgrounds of the 32 candidates campaigning to become the next Mayor of Baltimore.
Operation: Crime & Justice found of the 32 mayoral hopefuls, more than half of the candidates have faced criminal charges.
We found candidates charged with a variety of crimes that included embezzlement, carjacking, as well as false imprisonment.
Former Mayor Shelia Dixon is the most notable candidate to face criminal charges.
William Herd, David Wiggins, as well as Richard Vaughn also faced criminal charges.
Former Mayor Catherine Pugh is expected to be sentenced for her corruption scheme, which led to her resignation back in May of 2019. It stemmed from a deal regarding the sale of her children’s book to the University of Maryland Medical System. This got the attention of the FBI who also raided her two homes and office at city hall (via Fox News):
As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.
UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.
Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.
Pugh pleaded guilty to the charges and prosecutors are recommending a five-year sentence for tax evasion (via Fox News):
In a 37-page sentencing memorandum, U.S. Attorney Robert Hur wrote, Pugh's scheme was “a recurring pattern of well-executed steps that built on each other, becoming more audacious and complex leading up to the mayoral election,” according to WJZ-TV.
Prosecutors said her plan to rip off nonprofits and taxpayers began in 2011, when she was a state senator.
Among other things, the indictment against Pugh accused her of claiming taxable income in 2016 of $31,020, with $4,168 tax due, "when in fact, Pugh's taxable income was $322,365, with an income tax due of approximately $102,444."
Pugh's books have included "Healthy Holly: Exercising is Fun" and "Healthy Holly: Fruits Come in Colors like the Rainbow." Most were sold directly to nonprofits and foundations that did – or tried to do – business with the state or with Baltimore.
And now half of the people running to succeed her have criminal histories of their own. Some city.