Maryland lawmaker charged with felony theft & misconduct over district office rental
BALTIMORE – State prosecutors on Wednesday filed criminal charges against a Maryland state delegate accused of misusing public funds to rent a cottage outside his legislative district for his personal use.
State Del. Richard Impallaria, who represents District 7, is charged with seven counts, including felony theft, misconduct in office and fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary, according to the criminal complaint filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.
Impallaria is accused of arranging for the state to pay for nearly $93,000 in rent to his landlord over the past 10 years for a cottage in Essex, outside of his legislative district, that was billed as a "district office" but was used instead for personal storage, prosecutors said.
"Elected officials are expected to be good stewards of the State's resources," State Prosecutor Charlton Howard said. "Any official who abuses the public trust for personal gain must be held accountable."
The complaint alleges that the cottage neighbors one he was already renting for his personal use and that it is owned by the same landlord. It stated that the state paid $700 a month for the "district office," double the rate other tenants on the same road were paying. The previous tenant had been paying $300 a month for the same cottage.
Around the same time, the complaint says, Impallaria stopped paying rent on the cottage he was already renting from the landlord, even though he continued to "maintain" the personal cottage.
"Although Impallaria continues to maintain his personal cottage at 5 Punte Lane, he has not paid rent since the General Assembly began making rental payments for the 4 Punte Lane 'district office' in July of 2012," the complaint states.
Starting in 2016, the landlord raised the rent on six of seven cottages they owned by $50 a month, according to the complaint, which noted that the General Assembly began paying $800 a month in rent for the "district office" cottage.
The delegate's belongings, including bedroom furniture, pellet rifles, coolers, clothes and campaign materials, were found inside the supposed office space, prosecutors said.
Rent ledgers reviewed by investigators found that "the monthly months received from the General Assembly were divided and split between the 'district office' rental at 4 Punte Lane and the rental of Impallaria's personal cottage at 5 Punte Lane," according to the complaint.
Additionally, prosecutors accuse Impallaria of billing the state for $2,400 for office furniture that was never ordered to cover the cost of political campaign mailers soliciting donations from supporters.
Impallaria, whose district includes parts of Baltimore and Harford counties, has been a member of the House of Delegates since 2003. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in the July 19 primary.
