Defiant and tearful Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon speaks to the press following announcement of her decision to resign. Photo by Fern Shen

by FERN SHEN
You’d think Sheila Dixon could sit quietly for a public reading of the tawdry-but-by-now-well-known financial details of her affair with developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, since it was all part of a pretty sweet plea deal for the Baltimore mayor:

Dixon resigns (in a month) and, if she doesn’t violate her probation (over four years), she ends up with no criminal record — and her $83,000 annual pension intact, according to the agreement outlined in court yesterday. Dixon was convicted of embezzlement last month and yesterday entered an Alford plea to the outstanding perjury charges against her, meaning she does not admit guilt, but admits there is enough evidence to convict her.

The prosecutors helpfully recounted that evidence in detail yesterday — the burnt umber mink and Persian lamb coats Lipscomb gave her, the hotel rooms he covered for their trips together, the thousands he gave her, including wads of cash, to help with her expenses in Chicago, and to help pay for facial cleansers and moisturizers and Coach accessories.

At one point, though, Dixon suddenly leapt to her feet, saying “Your Honor, those things are not true, they’re wrong!”

It was just a momentary deviation from the script, an outburst prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh later described with a grin as “unusual.” Defense attorney Arnold Weiner patted Dixon’s arm and spoke quietly to her until she settled down at the defense table. Reminded later of the outburst, Weiner also grinned and said it was further evidence of Dixon’s character: “She’s feisty. That’s what makes her so good and effective AND so lovable.”

‘Feisty’ seemed like an understatement yesterday, as the 56-year-old Dixon faced the press unrepentant, even as her promising political career — as Baltimore’s first African-American woman mayor and an official widely regarded to be doing a decent job — came crashing down.

Reporters tried repeatedly to get Dixon to apologize, acknowledge guilt or bad judgment or somehow explain how she could have done what she was charged with doing when she was City Council president: taking gift cards meant for the poor, dating a developer with business before the city and then failing to report, as required by law, the thousands of dollars worth of  gifts he lavished on her. But Dixon was having none of it.

“Can you explain to the citizens why they had to go through this?” one of them asked.

“The citizens have to ask the prosecutors, not me,” Dixon shot back.

Taking another run at it, another reporter said “On this apology thing again,’ a lot of people, even supporters, wonder “why won’t the mayor just say that she’s sorry, admit to what she did and we could move on?”

“Let me say this,” Dixon answered him. “First of all, there were ver– a few people who asked for that. Second of all, I can’t go into the case, because part of an explanation would have to do with that and I can’t discuss that right now, so I’m not going to.”

About as much as they got was “I take responsibility for some of the choices that I made.” And at one point, when she thanked her staff, Dixon choked up, got teary-eyed and seemed like she might lose it. But didn’t.

Sheila Dixon broke down, at one point, at the news conference she held to discuss her resignation. (Photo by Fern Shen)

Other elements of the deal

* Dixon drops any appeals in connection with the perjury or gift card cases.

* Dixon resigns as Mayor of Baltimore on Feb. 4, 2010, the day when the sentencing takes place.

* Dixon gives up the Lipscomb-purchased fur coats and the X-Box “Need for Speed” and Samsung camcorder purchased by Lipscomb and developer Patrick Turner — all this is to be sold “at auction, on E-Bay or otherwise” by the state. The proceeds are to go to YouthWorks, a Baltimore non-profit which assists children in Baltimore.

* Dixon promises not to seek, hold or be employed in any position with the state of Maryland or City of Baltimore while on probation.

* Dixon agrees to do 500 hours of community service at Our Daily Bread or any other place specified by her probation officer.

* Dixon agrees to make a charitable donation of $45,000 to the Bea Gaddy Family Center “and/or a Baltimore HIV/AIDS non-profit facility.” This is a special condition of the probation before judgment.

* She may not seek or accept city funds to pay her lawyers’ fees.

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake: soon-to-be Baltimore Mayor.

Extra Resources:

TEXT OF THE SEVEN-PAGE PLEA AGREEMENT  IS  HERE