Maryland State Sen. Dalya Attar, 2 others plead not guilty in alleged blackmail scheme

Maryland State Sen. Dalya Attar, her brother, and a Baltimore police officer pleaded not guilty in federal court on Monday to charges related to an alleged blackmail scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Attar, a Democrat who represents Baltimore, her brother, and Officer Kalman Finkelstein, are facing extortion and conspiracy charges for allegedly trying to silence a political consultant from speaking out before the 2022 election.

The indictment alleges the group secretly filmed the consultant in bed with a married man and threatened to expose the video. Four unnamed co-conspirators are also listed in the indictment.

Finkelstein has had his police powers suspended since 2022, but he has been working with the Baltimore Police Department in an administrative role.

Attar was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2018 and was chosen to fill a state senate vacancy earlier this year.

Alleged blackmail scheme

The indictment accuses Attar of conspiring with her brother, Joseph Attar, and Officer Finkelstein to try to silence the consultant from sending out mailers or posting online about Attar's voting record to fellow members of the Orthodox Jewish community, according to our partners at the Baltimore Banner.

The three were ordered to be released from custody on the condition that they surrender their passports, the Banner reported.

The consultant is a dual citizen of the United States and Israel and worked for Attar during the 2018 election, according to the indictment. The two had a disagreement and split ways, according to the Banner.

The Banner reported that Attar was concerned that the consultant was "looking to screw me badly," which may have prompted the blackmail scheme. 

The Banner continued that the scheme came to a boil when Joseph Attar threatened the consultant and the married man, known in the indictment as "victim 2,″ with the release of the videos unless the consultant agreed to "leave Dalya alone."

In 2020, the consultant visited the states and stayed in an apartment that belonged to Finkelstein's family, according to the Banner.

Joseph Attar, who goes by "Yossi," and Finkelstein went into the apartment on Jan. 16, when the consultant was away and installed cameras disguised as smoke detectors, the indictment reads, according to the Banner. 

According to the Banner, the indictment said that five days later, Joseph Attar, who had been accessing the video feeds, found what they were looking for: the consultant with the married man.

Attar responds to allegations

State Sen. Attar told WJZ in a statement that she will continue to serve her community, and she "looks forward to telling her side of the story."

"I ran for public office because of my strong belief in serving the community that I love, and I would never do anything to knowingly jeopardize my constituents' trust in me," Attar said in a statement. "The case centers on the allegations of my former disgruntled employee. We have yet to see any tangible evidence to support the claim that I knew of any illegal actions taken on my behalf."

Attar added, "I look forward to sharing my side of the story, and believe the truth will be the arbiter of justice. In the meantime, I will continue to serve my community with humility and honor, and look forward to being as transparent as possible."