Maryland state senator, brother and Baltimore police officer charged in alleged blackmail scheme

Maryland state Sen. Dalya Attar, her brother, and a Baltimore Police officer are facing federal charges related to an alleged blackmail scheme.

Attar, a Democrat who represents Baltimore, allegedly tried to silence a political consultant from speaking out against her before the 2022 election, according to a recently unsealed federal indictment.

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.       

Baltimore Police said the officer involved, Kalman Finkelstein, has had his powers suspended since 2022. But he has been working with the 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.

Maryland Senator President Bill Ferguson's office told WJZ that this was the first time they learned of Attar's arrest.

"We don't have any additional information to provide at this time," the statement continued. "The Senate of Maryland holds its members to the highest ethical standards as we serve our constituents, and we will continue to do so as we learn more about the alleged facts in the indictment."

Alleged blackmail scheme

According to our media partner, The Baltimore Banner, 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.

A federal judge ordered all three to be released from custody Thursday on the condition that they surrender their passports, according to the Banner. 

The Banner reported that 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.

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 my 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."