PG-Politics: S25.Currie.Corruption

Showing posts with label S25.Currie.Corruption. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Center Maryland: Josh Kurtz: Uly’s Gold (Currie under investigation, but unopposed)

Conclusion: "Anyone who has met Currie and knows what a nice guy he is has to wish him well. But anyone who cares about democracy, and about honesty in government and politics, cannot be happy that this guy is getting a free ride"

http://articles.centermaryland.org/?p=1178

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Recent Prince George's County News (29 Apr 2010)

Public Safety

Gory Prince George's:

PGPolice: Police Investigate Homicide on Finchley Lane (2725) http://bit.ly/cN6Iie
rt @ABC7News Man Shot Near Suitland Parkway : http://clkurl.com/i.cfm/tw730697
PGPolice: Police Investigate Homicide on Branch Avenue (2726) http://bit.ly/dzHOih
Post: Pr. George's investigating man's body found in Bladensburg apartment http://bit.ly/bzfdD8

Gazette: Details emerge about bobbled jail handoff; Suitland robber on crime spree while he should have been imprisoned http://bit.ly/c3PMOw
Gazette: New claim of police brutality surfaces; student says he was knocked unconscious while trying to retrieve phone http://bit.ly/a82dta
Gazette: Berwyn Heights to fund police force, despite budget; to hire 2 more officers to better provide 24-hr coverage http://bit.ly/c3PMOw

2010 Election

Gazette: School board election district map revised; Mistakes corrected after boundaries changed http://bit.ly/bKTvcO
- Gazette: Map of new school board districts http://bit.ly/cOTNo7
Gazette: Career public servant running for District 9 seat; Mel Franklin pledges to protect rural tier, improve sch ... http://bit.ly/bUxPat
Gazette: David Harrington seeks second term for District 47; Creating jobs, senior housing among top priorities http://bit.ly/9TnXkU
Gazette: Bland eager to serve in different role; Councilwoman says she will work to get residents involved http://bit.ly/9XSKLG
Gazette: Prosecutor asked to check Currie (D-25) campaign exp; Legal fees, credit card use questioned by state elect bd http://bit.ly/96bJIA
Levi Campaign Bus Tour Kick-Off http://www.votelevi.com/documents/2010-04-29Kick-Off-Flyer.pdf
Gazette: Linda Thomas has said she will not run again for school board; will instead file for Dist 8 Council in July. http://bit.ly/bZ6MkD

Education

Gazette: School board election district map revised; Mistakes corrected after boundaries changed http://bit.ly/bKTvcO

Gazette: Map of new school board districts http://bit.ly/cOTNo7

Other

Gazette: PG Council calls for housing department audit; Deadline problems, lack of communication cited by staff members http://bit.ly/ahCu1R

Friday, April 23, 2010

Recent Prince George's County News (23 Apr 2010)

Public Safety

rt @postcrime Pr. George's deputy investigated for talking to reporters http://bit.ly/czHLHu Rafael Hylton, cand for Sheriff, bro of Pol Chf
Post: Does Sheriff Jackson deserve a promotion? http://bit.ly/cllUBo
rt @PGSentinel Crime Watch for April 22 http://shar.es/mu0zL
rt @PGSentinel Convictions for April 22 http://shar.es/mu0Ec
Examiner: Man shot while driving car into P.G. sheriff's deputy http://bit.ly/aX3b91
rt @ElaheIzadi Two men arrested for separate April killings in Prince George's County http://tinyurl.com/25za8mv

2010 Election

rt @postcrime Pr. George's deputy investigated for talking to reporters http://bit.ly/czHLHu Rafael Hylton, cand for Sheriff, bro of Pol Chf
Post: Does Sheriff Jackson deserve a promotion? http://bit.ly/cllUBo
Gazette: Prosecutor asked to check Currie (D-25) campaign expenses; Legal fees, credit card use questioned http://bit.ly/cRzNaQ
Sun: Supreme Court ruling might affect MD corruption cases - decision on mail-fraud statute could affect Currie (D-25) http://bit.ly/902Eg1
Gazette: When does a candidate become a candidate? Herman Taylor event appears to be gray area in state, federal law http://bit.ly/cEIVuJ

Other Politics

Gazette: Lawmakers protest possible deportation of Langley Park mother, Rally Mon http://bit.ly/dASdSF (PG LawMAKERS oppose enforcing laws)
Gazette: WSSC head looks to expand power; Johnson wants to double size of contracts GM can award http://bit.ly/cRzNaQ

Education

Gazette: Tempers flare at Oxon Hill Middle meeting over alleged student abuse http://bit.ly/chxxEe

Friday, June 12, 2009

2010 Candidates: Rumors about various senate races

Primary races could produce intriguing matchups; Potential for battle looms large in Prince George's, elsewhere.
Gazette, 12 Jun 2009 (Brody).

* * *
Several Annapolis insiders said Prince George's County appears to be ground zero for primary election intrigue:

[Senate 22] Michael Herman , chief of staff to County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and a former mayor of Riverdale, could take on Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Dist. 22) of University Park, who has established himself as one of the chamber's most liberal members.

[Senate 23] Bobby G. Henry Jr., a prominent attorney, may consider a rematch against Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie. Henry is leading the defense fund established to help pay legal bills for Sen. Ulysses Currie, whom the FBI is investigating for his work for Shoppers Food Warehouse. Peters edged out Henry by less than 600 votes in 2006.

[Senate 24] Term-limited County Councilwoman Camille Exum (D-Dist. 7 ) of Seat Pleasant may try to follow in the footsteps of her father, Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Dist. 24) of Capitol Heights, if he decides to hang it up after nine terms. Del. Joanne C. Benson (D-Dist. 24 ) of Landover is rumored to have her eye on switching chambers, while Oxon Hill resident Curtis Valentine, who led the Obama campaign in Prince George's County, is also said to be considering a run for office.

[Senate 25] Del. Aisha N. Braveboy (D-Dist. 25 ) of Mitchellville could challenge Currie (D-Dist. 25) of District Heights.

[Senate 26] District 26 could be wide open if Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D) of Fort Washington jumps into the open county executive race.

[Senate 47] Del. Victor R. Ramirez may run against Sen. David C. Harrington (D-Dist. 47 ) of Cheverly, who was appointed to the seat after the death of Sen. Gwendolyn T. Britt. Ramirez (D-Dist. 47) of Mount Rainier had sought to fill Britt's seat at the time.

For all the early speculation, Pinsky, who plans to run for re-election, predicted that at least half of the rumored challenges will not materialize.

"Talk is cheap. Sometimes talk is throw it up against the wall and see what sticks," he said. "When they start making phone calls and saying, ‘Can I count on your support for X office?' then it becomes much more real."

Incumbents usually skate to re-election, but Progressive Maryland will target some Democratic office holders, though the group's executive director, Sean Dobson, declined to say which ones.

"We're going to challenge the bad apple Democrats who are carrying water for corporate special interests at the expense of working families," he said on Thursday. "These bad apples know who they are and if they think they're safe, they need to ponder two words: Al Wynn."
* * *

Comment: [Senate 27] Reporter Brody completely ignored the fact that Ron Miller has already announced that he is a repeat candidate for senate in District 27.

(Posted 12 Jun 2009)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Del Davis testifies to grand jury in probe of Sen. Currie (Updated)

Lawmaker testifies in Currie probe; Grand jury continues look at influential state senator
Sun, 28 May 2009 (Smitherman & Dechter).

A top-ranking Maryland delegate testified Wednesday before a grand jury investigating state Sen. Ulysses Currie , a continuation of a federal probe into the senator's work as a consultant for the Shoppers Food and Pharmacy grocery store chain.

Del. Dereck E. Davis, chairman of the Economic Matters Committee, appeared before the federal grand jury in Baltimore, according to a source familiar with the matter. Davis, who had been questioned by the FBI in September, shares a district in Prince George's County with Currie. Both lawmakers are Democrats.

Federal authorities have been examining whether the Lanham-based supermarket company hired Currie to parlay the prestige of his office into favorable legislation and decisions by state agencies. Currie was paid more than $200,000 over a five-year period, according to a search warrant affidavit. The investigation came to light when the FBI raided the senator's home in May 2008.

Currie, chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee, never disclosed his employment by Shoppers on General Assembly ethics forms.

Prosecutors' interest in Davis appears to stem from his role as chairman of the committee with purview over legislation that authorized the transfer of a liquor license from one Shoppers supermarket to another. The grand jury questions regarded circumstances surrounding that bill and any communication between the legislative offices of Davis and Currie, according to the source.

Reached by phone last night, Currie said he had "no idea" why Davis was called to the grand jury. "I would rather not comment," he said. The U.S. attorney's office also declined to comment.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Prince George's and Calvert County Democrat, said that Currie, a close friend, indicated in a conversation this week that Currie's lawyer was hopeful about the outcome of the case. "He said his counsel is very confident that it was not as serious as the federal government initially thought it might be," Miller said.

Currie voted in 2005 in favor of the legislation regarding the liquor license transfer, and according to an FBI affidavit, he was in frequent contact with Shoppers representatives and the chief liquor inspector for Prince George's County at a time when local approval of the transfer had drawn strong opposition.

Currie also intervened on Shoppers behalf when the supermarket was negotiating with the owner of West Baltimore's Mondawmin Mall, which received state subsidies as part of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment project. He also contacted transportation officials for traffic light installations, roadside improvements and other projects near the grocery chain's stores.

The senator has remained in his legislative leadership position despite the cloud of the investigation, playing a key role in difficult negotiations as the state struggled to balance its budget in the face of massive shortfalls. Miller has said the legislative ethics committee might look into the matter, but not until the federal investigation concludes.

Del. Davis Summoned Before Currie Grand Jury.
Maryland Moment, 28 May 2009 (Wagner).

A fellow state lawmaker from Prince George's County testified this week before a grand jury investigating Sen. Ulysses Currie, the latest public sign that a federal probe is continuing into the Democrat's work for a grocery store chain.

Del. Dereck Davis (D-Prince George's) confirmed in an interview that he was summoned to Baltimore on Wednesday for questions that focused on Currie's work for Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, which Currie did not include on financial disclosure forms until this year, after an FBI investigation became public.

Documents and interviews show that the Currie, chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, intervened repeatedly with government agencies on issues of interest to Shoppers. Federal investigators have been scrutinizing a a decision by the Prince George's liquor board to allow Shoppers to transfer a beer and wine license from its store near Takoma Park to one in College Park. Currie had voted on legislation in 2005 that allowed the transfer to take place and later attended a lengthy liquor board hearing on the matter.

Davis and Currie represent the same Prince George's district, and Davis chairs the House Economic Matters Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation affecting liquor licenses.

"Because of the committee's jurisdiction, they wanted to probe that whole situation, but there wasn't much for me to say," said Davis, who said he was also interviewed by the FBI in late September.

Davis's appearance before the grand jury, which he said lasted about an hour, was first reported by the Baltimore Sun.

Dale Kelberman, a lawyer for Currie, did not return a phone call this morning.

The federal investigation became public last May when FBI agents searched Currie's home and the corporate offices of the Lanham-based grocery chain.

According to court documents, Shoppers paid Currie more than $207,000 starting in 2003.

Others known to have testified to the grand jury about Currie include Franklin Jackson, the chairman of the Prince George's Board of Liquor License Commissioners, who appeared in January, and William G. Somerville, a lawyer who advises the General Assembly on ethics issues, who appeared last year.

Earlier:

If you complain about crime, but publicly support criminals, what do you suppose our kids think?, 29 Apr 2009
Currie Defense Fund, 10 Feb 2009
Currie's Fundraising Slows to a Trickle, 26 Jan 2009
More on Currie Investigation, 4 Sep 2008
Miller says he won't ask Currie to step down, 27 Aug 2008
Md. Ethics Committee Sets Focus on Currie, 26 Aug 2008

(Posted 28 May 2009)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

If you complain about crime, but publicly support criminals, what do you suppose our kids think?

Prince George's County has a crime problem--just read the archives of these discussion groups.

But while many individual who post here complain about crime, many, including some of the same people, post messages praising criminal behavior by our elected officials.

Donna Edwards, Nat Exum, Ulysses Currie, David Harrington, Marilynn Bland, Camille Exum, house majority leader Barve--all accused of or investigated for criminal behavior, and all supported by people here.

What are our children supposed to believe about what's right and what's wrong when the adults keep praising people who break the law.

Do we really want to keep reinforcing the message that it is acceptable, even good, to pick and choose which laws to obey and which to disobey? That it is good to disobey the law if you disagree with it or think breaking the law supports some noble purpose?

How do we expect our children, especially the ones tempted by gang promises to right perceived wrongs, to obey the law when we allow our leaders--the ones who should be setting an example--to ignore the very laws they pass?

Monday, March 02, 2009

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

PG Porkers (Sen. Currie)

Maryland has a fiscal crisis with a huge deficit looming despite the huge 2007 tax increase. But Tax and Spend Senator Ulysses Currie (D-25), who voted for the tax increase, and is currently being investigated for ethics violations, wants to spend even more of the money we don't have on non-essential, non-state government frills instead of maintaining essential state services like education and public safety. How many more state employees will be laid off or furloughed to help buy votes for Sen. Currie?

SB 519, Creation of a State Debt - Prince George's County - Olde Mill Community and Teaching Center ($50,000)
SB 827, Creation of a State Debt - Capital Area Food Bank ($300,000)
SB 837, Gethsemane UMC Chosen Youth Group Basketball Court ($25,000)
Total: $375,000

(Updated 10 Feb 2009)

Currie Defense Fund

Backers Start Currie Defense Fund.
Post, 10 Feb 2009 (Helderman).

Supporters of Sen. Ulysses Currie [ D-25] have launched a legal fund to help the Prince George's Democrat pay the cost of defending himself in an ongoing federal probe of his consulting work for Shoppers Food and Pharmacy.

Lawyer and pastor Bobby G. Henry Jr., a lead organizer of the effort, said the Currie Defense Fund was formed to give friends of the senator a way to help underwrite his legal fees. Currie has retained two prominent attorneys to represent him in the case, which became public in May when the FBI raided the senator's District Heights home and the Lanham headquarters of the grocery chain.

Currie had been paid more than $207,000 by the grocer since 2003, income he did not disclose on state ethics forms. Documents and interviews indicated that he intervened repeatedly with state agencies on issues of interest to the company.
* * *
The fund was formed in December and a Web site was launched for it late last month, Henry said. The timing of the launch drew some questions yesterday because it was near the Jan. 14 start of the General Assembly's legislative session. Lawmakers are barred from campaign fundraising during the session to avoid the impression that political donations could cultivate legislative favor.
* * *
He said the fund's trustees, who include Larry Jordan, a bishop at the Believers Worship Center in Prince George's, and pastor and accountant Vanetta L. Brice, will make lists of donors regularly available to the public. He said the first list should be available in two to three weeks.

Old Friend Heads Currie Defense Fund.
Maryland Moment, 10 Feb 2009 (Helderman ).

This morning, we reported on the creation of the legal defense fund to support Sen. Ulysses Currie. A website has been created for the fund.

The organization's leader is Bobby Henry , an attorney who is now representing the family of Ronnie White, an inmate found struggled to death in his cell at the Prince George's jail in June, hours after he was charged with killing a county police officer. [More ]

(Posted 10 Feb 2009)

Monday, January 26, 2009

Currie's Fundraising Slows To a Trickle

(Posted 26 Jan 2009)

Currie's Fundraising Slows To a Trickle; Gansler, Smith Step Up.
Maryland Moment, 26 Jan 2009 (Wagner).

Among other things, the federal investigation of Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George's) appears to have taken a significant toll on his campaign fundraising.

Currie, chairman of the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee and one of the Senate's most prolific fundraisers, reported taking in only $17,673 last year -- and all of that was before news broke in late May about an FBI raid of Currie's home and the headquarters of Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, for whom Currie had been doing undisclosed consulting work.

Currie raised nearly $64,000 during the same period a year before and is sitting on a bank account of $345,663. State lawyers advised last year that it was unlikely Currie would be able to use campaign cash to pay his legal defense fees.
* * *
(A report for Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) not available through the Board of Elections as of this morning.)
* * *
In a year in which he reversed a retirement decision, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) reported raising $379,141, with $644,234 in the bank.
[More]

Thursday, September 04, 2008

More on Currie Investigation

(Posted 4 Sep 2008)

2 Testify to Grand Jury In Currie Investigation; Liquor Board Chief, Giannetti Called.
Post, 4 Sep 2008 (Helderman).

The chairman of the Prince George's County liquor board appeared yesterday before a federal grand jury investigating state Sen. Ulysses Currie, an indication that prosecutors are presenting witnesses to a grand jury considering allegations against the powerful senator.

Also yesterday, former state senator John A. Giannetti Jr. (D-Prince George's) confirmed that he, too, has appeared before the federal grand jury, offering testimony about a 2005 bill that allowed the transfer of a liquor license from one Shoppers Food and Pharmacy grocery store in Prince George's to another.
[Full story] [More] Authorities have been investigating Currie's consulting work for the Lanham-based grocery chain, a relationship he did not disclose on state financial forms. According to court documents, Currie (D-Prince George's) began working for the company in 2003 and was paid $207,000 from then through last year.

Franklin Jackson, head of Prince George's Board of Liquor License Commissioners, entered a hearing room on the eighth floor of the Baltimore federal courthouse just after 1 p.m. and emerged about 90 minutes later. Jackson, who appeared in response to a subpoena, would not comment afterward.

Dale Kelberman, an attorney for Currie, also declined to comment.

When Currie worked for the company, he had numerous contacts with state agencies on issues concerning the grocery chain, including tax incentives and traffic lights. Federal officials have issued subpoenas to state agencies in connection with the case, gathering thousands of pages of documents to present to the grand jury.

An affidavit filed in May by the FBI to secure a search warrant for Currie's house indicated the agency was investigating whether Currie used his legislative position to benefit the company.

Jackson and Giannetti are the first witnesses known to have appeared before the panel. Their testimony might suggest prosecutors are focusing on the 2005 decision by the five-member Prince George's liquor board to allow Shoppers to transfer a beer and wine license from its Takoma Park store to one in College Park.

Generally, state law does not allow the Prince George's liquor board to issue new licenses to grocery stores, and it prohibits the transfer of licenses such as the one held by the Takoma Park store from one county legislative district to another.

Therefore, new legislation was required to allow the College Park store to get a license to sell beer and wine. On the last day of the 2005 Maryland General Assembly session, Sen. Gwendolyn T. Britt (D-Prince George's) submitted an amendment to an unrelated bill to allow the liquor board to approve the transfer.

Britt died in January. Her husband has said she said at the time that Currie pressured her to offer the amendment.

In a June interview, Giannetti, who at the time represented the College Park area and supported the transfer, said that he was unaware of any pressure by Currie and that he did not think it was needed, given that he was willing to sponsor the bill.

Giannetti also said that he did not know what Currie and Britt discussed when he was not present and that Currie was actively engaged in discussions about the legislation.

Currie suggested Giannetti steer clear of the issue because he was already feuding with the College Park City Council, which opposed the transfer, Giannetti said in the interview.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said last week that a state legislative ethics committee will explore whether Currie violated Maryland ethics law through his work for Shoppers, even if federal authorities do not charge him with a crime. State ethics laws prohibit legislators from working as paid lobbyists.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Miller says he won't ask Currie to step down

(Posted 27 Aug 2008)

Miller says he won't ask Currie to step down.
Sun, 27 Aug 2008

DENVER - The president of the Maryland Senate said yesterday that Sen. Ulysses Currie's work for a regional grocery chain should be investigated by the General Assembly, but Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller dismissed speculation that he would ask the Prince George's County Democrat to step down from his leadership post. . . . [Full story]

Earlier: Md. Ethics Committee Sets Focus On Currie, 26 Aug 2008

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Md. Ethics Committee Sets Focus On Currie

(Posted 26 Aug 2008)

Md. Ethics Committee Sets Focus On Currie.
Post, 26 Aug 2008 (Wagner).

Apparent violations of state ethics laws by Sen. Ulysses Currie will be scrutinized by a Maryland legislative ethics committee, even if the Prince George's County Democrat is cleared in an ongoing federal investigation, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said yesterday.

Federal prosecutors are examining whether Currie, chairman of the powerful Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, improperly used his office to benefit the grocery chain Shoppers Food and Pharmacy. Currie did not disclose his work as a consultant for the company on state financial forms at a time when records show he was helping the Lanham company in dealings with the state. . . . [Full story]

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