Mayor Sheila Dixon indicted

[Burma Jones]

Source: Baltimore Sun

Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was charged today in a 12-count indictment, according to the Maryland State Prosecutor's Office's Web site.

Dixon was charged with perjury, theft, fraudulent misappropriation and misconduct, stemming from gifts she received from former boyfriend and developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, who was also charged earlier this week.

Dixon has been the target of a nearly three-year probe by State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh into corruption at City Hall, an investigation that has centered on allegations that Dixon has used her office to award lucrative contracts to various people including her sister, her then-boyfriend and her former campaign chairman.

Dixon is expected to appear this afternoon at a news conference at the Clipper Mill offices of her attorney, Arnold M. Weiner.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-dixon0109,0,3147190.story

[Hope And Change]

1. WTF?

[musette_sf]

2. i'm all for exposing corruption

but honestly, doesn't this seem like just a bunch of petty political SOP BS? looks more like a smear of Dems to me.

while Bu$hCo remains unindicted for "awarding lucrative contracts" to Halliburton/KBR, Blackwater, Brown & Root, etc etc etc.

and the Bu$h Crime Family wrote the book on "awarding lucrative contracts".

just google "bush contract lucrative awards".

makes Mayor Dixon seem like a Sunday School teacher.

[Rebubula]

5. Sorry...

...the 'Gosh, there are so many worse people' defense is pretty weak...though I have been known to use it.

Baltimore is just as corrupt as any city not named Chicago or New Orleans, but it is a great city otherwise.

[Wizard777]

8. Step one end Corruption at City Hall. Step two end corruption in the Police Department.

Then Baltimore will be a much better place.

[Wizard777]

12. Opps wrong place

[GinaMaria]

16. the fish starts to smell at the head

Take down the corruption at the top and work your way down. It sends a powerful message and it can slow down the trickle down corruption and bullying. It's not that this isn't important but this is attempting to amputate a small piece of the problem while the big time criminals manage to ooze into non infected area creating infection. just my two cents. I just prefer the top down approach as well as a bottom up (grassroots) where we all meet in the middle. It doesn't make sense to me to start in the middle. :shrug:

[man4allcats]

10. Re: "...doesn't this seem like just a bunch of petty political SOP BS?"

Au contraire! It would be both naive and hypocritical for us to assume corruption doesn't exist on our side of the fence. Even before Blago and now this, you don't have to look far for examples. Senator Reid, Speaker Pelosi and, with few notable exceptions (Dennis Kucinich being the most obvious), the entire 110th Bush ass-kissing Congress come to mind. Republicans are unique only in the degree of their greed, hypocrisy and bigotry. No one would like to see Bushco prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law more than I, but whether or not that happens, we as Democrats and thus the party of the rule of law and the Constitution have an obligation to keep our own house clean. Moral relativism has no place in a democratic republic.

[Burma Jones]

15. About the only thing I can say in favor of Democratic Party corruption is...

it tends not to kill as many people.......Unless you want to count LBJ and Viet Nam

[Sultana]

3. Enjoy jail dumbass

[mikelgb]

4. look what you get for not impeaching the republicans

[AZ Criminal JD]

6. So you are in favor of corrupt Democrats?

[mikelgb]

7. no

[SharonRB]

9. Welcome to Detroit's world, Baltimore n/t

[No Elephants]

11. Throw away the

key on this alone:

Some of the charges center on gift cards that Dixon received from two real estate developers. According to the indictment, Dixon told one of the developers that the gift cards were going to be distributed to needy families in Baltimore. Prosecutors say that in December 2005, when Dixon was City Council president, she used 19 of 20 Best Buy gift cards for herself, purchasing personal items, including a digital camcorder, a PlayStation 2 and other electronics.

Prosecutors say that in December 2006, she used Old Navy, Best Buy and other gift cards intended for needy families for an Xbox 360, a PlayStation Portable, clothes and other items for her own use.

[Wizard777]

13. Her lawyer are trying to make it look like a republican political prosecution.

Could be. The DOJ is being investiagted for that.

[Burma Jones]

14. It's the Maryland State Prosecutor, not the Feds, BUT, the investigation started

under the Republican scum Ehrlich Administration, and they had no regard for civil rights (they had the State Police spy on all sorts of malcontents) or justifiable prosecutions.

[Wizard777]

18. The investigation was started by US Attorney Thomas DiBagio who exonerated her.

Then the State investigation began.

[tularetom]

17. Hey this is just like "The Wire"

Wonder if she was the model for the female politician on that show.