Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) has been on the downlow for the most part since she was found guilty of embezzling gift cards from the poor. She has refused to discuss the conviction, but continues to go “rah rah sis boom bah” for Baltimore.
More from The Baltimore Sun.
Seven days and a holiday passed before the jury in the corruption trial of Baltimore Mayor Shiela Dixon (D) returned a not guilty verdict on three of the five counts that she was charged with. While acquitted of two counts of felony theft and one count of official misconduct, she was still found guilty of one count of fraudulent misappropriation. A misdemeanor is now on her record and could see her removed from office.
No word from state prosecutors on whether or not they will seek jail time, or if they will seek a retrial of one count of fraudulent misappropriations by a fiduciary charge, which was declared as a mistrial due to the jury not unanimously coming to a decision. The state prosecutor, Robert Rohrbaugh was satisfied about the verdict, but not happy that Dixon was convicted, calling it a sad day.
Now that Dixon was found guilty of a misdemeanor, there is this whole removal from office thing. Article XV, Section 2 of the Maryland Constitution says that if any official is convicted of or enters a no contest please for a misdemeanor or a felony relating to duties while they are in office, they will be suspended without pay or benefits from office. During this time while appeals are going on, there can be a temporary mayor appointed. Once all legal avenues have been exhausted and the conviction finalized, Dixon is removed from office and the line of succession as dictated by the Baltimore City charter is activated, meaning that City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake would become mayor. In the meantime, Baltimore Del. Curt Anderson (D-Dist. 43) called into The Ron Smith Show on WBAL (AM 1090) and stated that Dixon would be suspended when she is formally sentenced.
In addition to the other circumstances surrounding the case (sentencing, appeals and a possible retrial), she will be facing a perjury trial in March.
More from The Baltimore Sun, WBAL (AM1090) and WBAL-TV (Channel 11).
From the looks of things, the jury in the corruption trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) is deadlocked. WJZ-TV (Channel 13) reports that the jury sent the judge a note station stating that there is not a unanimous vote on any of the counts Dixon is facing and they requested another day of deliberations. Baltimore has been on needles awaiting for a decision from the jury over the past week, especially since the stakes are so high. If Dixon is convicted of any of the counts, she will be thrown out of office.
The defense has rested and the final arguments are scheduled to begin tomorrow morning at 9:00a.m.
Only Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) is now facing five charges and not the seven that she initially faced at the start of the trial. The charges that were dropped were related to gift cards involving the mayor’s former boyfriend, developer Ronald Lipscomb.
More from WBAL (1090AM), WMAR-TV (Channel 2), WBAL-TV (Channel 11), WJZ-TV (Channel 13) and The Baltimore Sun.
The Baltimore Sun is giving a preview of the strategy that will be implemented by the legal team of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D).
In papers filed with the court, they are asserting that the state will not only have to prove that she knew who the gift cards were for, but they would also have to prove that she knew that the gift cards came from developers in the first place. They also assert that Dixon even giving out the gift cards might have been the result of a mix up.
The indictments just keep on coming. Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) received another indictment. WBAL (1090AM) is reporting that a grand jury is indicting Dixon on the same charges that were on an earlier indictment, some of which were tossed out in May by a judge.
The Mayor has made it clear that she is going to focus her attention on running the city, while her attorney Arnold Weiner did the talking for her, expecting the charges on this indictment will also meet the same fate as those dropped in May, adding that they are flawed.
WBAL-TV (Channel 11) also has this video report.
It looks like Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) remains the target of those who recognize Circuit Court Clerk Frank Conaway’s authority over administering the oath.
The Baltimore Sun says that paralegal and drug rehab counselor David Wiggins has filed suit asking that Dixon get’s removed from office, citing that she was suppose to be sworn in by Conaway, who ran against her in 2007. Dixon was sworn in by Governor Martin O’Malley (D), her predecessor.
Now the kicker…Wiggins wants to be installed as interim mayor.
The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the judge in the trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon must provide her defense attorney’s a list of all of the real estate projects and companies involved that can be used against her. Dixon is accused of lying about receiving gifts from city developer Ronald Lipscomb, whom Dixon briefly dated. She is also accused of stealing gift cards under the guise of giving them to the needy.
Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo was the topic of discussion on NPR’s Tell Me More, more accurately the botched police raid on his home.
Calvo has stated that he is beyond an apology, he wants change. He ifinds “stunning” that even though Prince George’s County is the most affluent black majority jurisdiction in the country, the “absolute disregard” for civil rights adding that he is concerned about how county leadership (black for the record) remarkably disregards civil rights.
For the record, the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office declined NPR’s request to interview either someone from the department or County Sheriff Michael A. Jackson.
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) is felt snubbed when then-President-Elect Barack Obama (D) rode to Washington on a train from Philadelphia with a pit stop in Baltimore.
In her first interview with WJZ-TV (Channel 13) since she was indicted, Dixon stated that she was bothered when Obama did not mention her.
Click Here to read the story and see the entire interview.
In case anyone was wondering, not only am I continuing to call for the apology and resignation of Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael A. Jackson (D) in addition to the apology of now former County Police Chief Melvin High (he retired,) but Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife Trinity Tomsic are continuing to live their lives in the same home where officers from both agencies completely botched a raid where they did not have a no knock warrant as High and Jackson had originally claimed. In this week’s edition of The Washington Post Magazine, they are the cover story. It’s a look at before, during and after the raid on Calvo’s home.
Also of note, a new facebook group “Friends of Cheye Calvo” started this weekend. In addition, Calvo and the writer of the Post Magazine article, April Witt, will be having an online discussion tomorrow (Feb. 2) at 12noon to discuss the article.
The Baltimore Sun is reporting that affordable housing advocate Trudy McFall will be running for mayor this year. The 65 year-old founder and chairwoman of Homes for America made the announcement last week at a kick off in downtown Annapolis.
McFall is a former chairwoman of the city housing authority board of commissioners.
