Baltimore Mayor Charged With Theft

Sheila Dixon Indicted For Perjury, Accepting Illegal Gifts

(AP)  Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Friday on charges that she accepted illegal gifts during her time as mayor and City Council president, including travel, fur coats and gift cards that she allegedly used for a holiday shopping spree.

A grand jury indicted Dixon on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office.

The State Prosecutor's Office, which has been investigating corruption at City Hall for nearly three years, said Dixon received holiday gift cards for four years from several people. Prosecutors said the gift cards were to be distributed to needy families, but were instead used by Dixon to buy herself electronics, clothes and other merchandise and also handed out to members of her staff.

"I am being unfairly accused," Dixon said in a statement. "Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges."

Dixon said she would not step down. "I will not let these charges deter me from keeping Baltimore on the path that we have set, or from carrying forward the significant progress we have made thus far," she said.

Dixon, a Democrat, served on the City Council from 1988 through 2007 and as council president from 1999 through 2007. She became mayor in January 2007, finishing the term of Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley, and was easily elected to a full, four-year term later that year.

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. However, previous court documents leave no doubt that Lipscomb is the "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.

[akili6]

Ofcourse this is gonna turn into a "all-black-people-are-criminals", lynch mob.

European Americans are going to be a minority in less than 25 years. Maybe you better start mending fences with all minorities before it''s too late.

[Krazcarl]

??? no one thinks she''s just misunderstood just apoor black lady TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET, maybe needed cash for crack

[jt_lancer]

Your public ''servants'' at work.

[dumdnc]

runningralph-and there have been crooked dems that have never been covered in the msm. Old diane feinstien 3/07, had to leave her cushy seat on the SEnate Arms Committee because it was found that she and her hubby did a good bit of war profiteering baving to do with his business. LEt''s not forger charlie rangel, just late last year, nonpayment of taxies on his vacation property also use of HUD housing in Harlem for his own use. How about the many references to wrongdoing by hill during the campaign? Can we forget norman hu??
How about chris dodd and the countrywide issue that got little coverage.
Queen nance and her PAC donating a ton of money to her hubby''s finance companies. Or hey, how about fannie and freddie together, run into the ground by dems.
No coverage.

[dumdnc]

Of course she''s innocent!! She''s a dem and she''s black.
See, dems and blacks can never be guilty of anything. And just what does Bush have to do with a crooked dem?
Any of you leeming ever watch "The Wire"?? Boy, does that series depict democratic politicans. The series could take place in PHilly, Chicago or any other large city perpetually controlled by the dems.

[msay3]

think she may be innocent or are you all a bunch of racist and figure she''''s black so she''''s a thief. the greatest hypocrisy in USA we Know cops are lazy and set folks up but when they press charges we all line up with stonesmost of you folks read the news so you can feel better than someone else/

Posted by crzmeat at 02:22 PM : Jan 10, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What about Blagojevich? He''s not black, but he is still a dishonest thief...Don''t start with the race card, sweetie....She is just another politician who thinks she is above the law...Plain and simple, end of story...

[piercetheval]

...and the Baltimore Ravens stole the game from the Tennesse Titans...

...and ya'' gotta love them Cardinals...talk about the biggest theft in NFL history!!!

[babooph]

And the rotten bunch in the White House will never be charged.

[lady54-2009]

And I thought that in the USA we had the best politicians money could buy.

[runningralph]

There have been some Republican politicians around the country charged with wrongdoing in the last few years. David Vitter, Stevens from Alaska, Larry Craig- the foot tapper, Foley with the page boys etc. The main difference is the way they react. Democrats have made thir fortunes playing victim. Republicans have tried to portray themselves as reasonable and business like.

[renojmc]

Ah yes, the ongoing stench of democrat politics...

[solarrays247-2009]

Posted by vycvyc

VYCVYC -- Sorry to hear that you are having rough times. I dont know what political party you''''re affiliated with, if at all, but this just goes to show you that you cannot rely on the govt to take care of your every need.

Your scenario, if true, should be the "stark" example of why the liberal "big govt" philosophy is the wrong way to go. Personal responsibility (ie. planning for the future, saving money, etc...) is YOUR responsibility, not the govt''''s.
Posted by ALLULOSERS at 01:31 PM : Jan 10, 2009

Geez, ALLULOSERS, where were you when our gov''t began bailing out Wall Street and some of the largest financial institutions in this country? Wish we could have told them, tough luck, it "is YOUR responsibility, not the govt''''s."

Things that make ya go hmm-mm-mm!

[Krazcarl]

think she may be innocent or are you all a bunch of racist and figure she''s black so she''s a thief. the greatest hypocrisy in USA we Know cops are lazy and set folks up but when they press charges we all line up with stonesmost of you folks read the news so you can feel better than someone else/

[allulosers]

Posted by vycvyc

VYCVYC -- Sorry to hear that you are having rough times. I dont know what political party you''re affiliated with, if at all, but this just goes to show you that you cannot rely on the govt to take care of your every need.

Your scenario, if true, should be the "stark" example of why the liberal "big govt" philosophy is the wrong way to go. Personal responsibility (ie. planning for the future, saving money, etc...) is YOUR responsibility, not the govt''s.

[vycvyc]

I USUALLY SIT BACK AND WATCH HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS RUN, ALL THEY WANT IS MORE MONEY FROM POOR PEOPLE AND THE RICH JUST GET AWAY WITH WHAT EVER. I JUST GET FRUSTRATED BECAUSE THERE''S NOTHING I CAN DO. I DON''T CARE WHO THEY TAKE OUT OF OFFICE BECAUSE THEY ALL ACT THE SAME WAY. I STRUGGLE TO TAKE CARE OF MY FAMILY, THEN I GET HURT AND I CAN''T GET ANY HELP. BUT I NOT A MOOCH, I WORK HARD AND KNOW I NEED SURGERY WITH THE THREAT OF LOOSING EVERYTHING, WHO IS IT I CAN TURN TO? OUR GOVERNMENT? NOONE TO TURN TO. I DON''T CARE, BECAUSE THEY CAN TAKE MY WIFES CAR, TURN OFF MY LIGHTS AND GAS BUT I WILL GET IT DONE, BUT SAD TO SAY. NOT BY ANY HELP FROM OUR GOVERNMENT. AND IT HURT ME TO SAY THIS BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN THIS GOVERNMENT ANDI KNOW THAT I WILL HELP SOMEONE WHO REALLY NEEDS IT.

[platteman]

Yea, she was boinking one guy while married to another. Oh well, just like KK. Just think, we got lots of crime in politics. Always taking money. Mostly from your pocket to theirs.

[ballpen1]

I just thought of something. All these scandals involving Dems coming out just in time for Obamas inauguration, can that be a random pattern? Or is not only the federal DOJ, but also the state prosecuters offices around the country swarming with Republicans, acting on some secret message send to them, maybe shortly after the election?

Well, if that would be the case, thank you!

Why thank them? Because Change and Hope do NOT mean "we are now in charge, that''s what changed". It means "we like to right every wrong, and if it''s our own people then bring it on!". And there are quite a few bad apples on our side as well (my favourite is Rep. Jefferson, the guy with the "cold hard cash" in the freezer).

GOP: help us to clean the house, your side included, in a professional and business-like matter and you might get a better review in public then you "enjoy" right now. Use these cases to smear us in adverts and mailings and we tell the public how strangly timed these discoveries where, by whom they where made and what YOU did in the last eight years...

[spinproof]

I think its high time we all know the Political Party and Political Affiliation of the individuals launching all these investigations against Democrats! I''m willing to bet serious money that in every instance it''s Republican motivated. In cases where Politicians are investigated, the U.S. needs a special non-Partisan panel made up of a balance of members from all major Political Party''s who sign off on it before the charges and investigations can go forward and are leaked to the Press before careers and reputations are destroyed. This pattern of Republican inspired and generated investigations and political take downs when they lose elections and power is getting out of hand!

[superfly48]

Another case of white collar crime, no matter what color you are. These people have enough money, give some of to the unemployed, but not the unemployed who sponge off the gov''t

[superfly48]

Another case of white collar crime, no matter what color you are. These people have enough money, give some of to the unemployed, but not the unemployed who sponge off the gov''t