Dixon allegedly went on a personal shoping spree using gift cards intended for the poor.

by DOUGLAS DONOVAN    

     Today, after nearly four years and four convictions, the Maryland State Prosecutor’s investigation of City Hall is set to start its long-awaited, climactic showdown with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.

     Whether Dixon wins or loses, a sitting mayor sitting in court on theft charges won’t help her mayoral efforts to undo Baltimore’s popular image as a crime-wracked metropolis. Had the Democratic mayor negotiated a plea deal, “the city that reads” (or bleeds) would have had a new nickname: the city that pleads.

     But a plea deal ain’t likely. A desperate Sunday call to the Maryland State Prosecutor’s office found the top prosecutor, Robert A. Rohrbaugh, and his chief deputy, Thomas M. McDonough, at work preparing for trial – not for a plea.

     In a city courtroom just a block from Dixon’s office, the mayor’s high powered legal team will begin haggling with Rohrbaugh and McDonough over which 12 city residents will be best suited to sit in judgment of their elected leader. (A separate trial for perjury charges will take place later.)

     Could there be a bigger news story? A rematch between Martin O’Malley and Robert L. Ehrlich? Who cares!
The State of Maryland vs. Sheila Ann Dixon. Now that’s a matchup.

     No one would blame you for tuning out the details of a probe that has dragged on since March 2006. So, as the case gets started, here’s a recap on the cast of characters. (For every last detail on the legal moves in the case, visit the  state website  dedicated to it. )

ROBERT A. ROHRBAUGH
     While many of the Democratic mayor’s supporters like to point out that Rohrbaugh was appointed by Ehrlich, a Republican governor, few who know him believe his probe of the Democrat-controlled City Hall is politically motivated. The facts of the case, which show a cozy relationship between Dixon and developer Ronald Lipscomb, certainly help support this idea as well.

     Rohrbaugh’s six-year term expires next year and he has said he intends to retire to Florida. He has worked as a federal prosecutor and as a private attorney who successfully championed the cases of children injured due to defective car seats.

     The father of two watched his wife, Linda, battle cancer at the same time his office was pursuing its City Hall probe. Linda Beall Rohrbaugh died a month after his agents raided the home of Sheila Dixon in June 2008. Here’s a full profile of Rohrbaugh.

     Asked what trait really describes Rohrbaugh best, many associates say: “he’s tenacious.” The same has been said about his deputy Thomas McDonough, who will handle much of the trial work and has worked in the office since 1984.

     Tenacious, however, is also a word that can be just as easily applied to their target.

SHEILA DIXON
     The 55-year-old divorced mother of two has been mayor since O’Malley left for Annapolis in January 2007. She’s been in City Hall since 1987, when she was first elected to the City Council. More than a decade later, in 1999, she was the first African American woman elected City Council president. She and O’Malley ran as allies and remained tied together politically until his gubernatorial victory.

     Dixon, a Baltimore native, is famous for her tough demeanor, her black belt in karate, her vigorous fitness, and, of course, her infamous shoe-banging incident. The member of Bethel AME Church is also known for her advocacy on behalf of fighting HIV, a disease that claimed the lives of her brother and sister-in-law.

JANICE DIXON
     The mayor’s troubles date to 2003 when a story in The Sun detailed nepotism and other unethical perks enjoyed by City Council members. (The Sun has  all the Dixon stories archived.)

      Then-City Council President Dixon was forced to fire her sister Janice from the payroll after the ethics board ruled that her employment violated ethics rules. Janice went on to work for a woman named Mildred Boyer, who ran a small firm called Utech.

MILDRED BOYER
     In 2006 The Sun reported that Dixon, as council president, grilled Comcast at a council hearing about why the cable company wasn’t employing more minority subcontractors, including Utech. Dixon never mentioned that her sister worked for Utech, nor had she revealed her sister’s job on her financial disclosure forms filed with the city’s Board of Ethics as required by law.

     It was later reported that Dixon voted as chair of the city’s spending board to approve contracts that listed Utech as a subcontractor, including one to manage the council’s computer system. The city quickly stripped Utech of its ability to win city contracts after it was also showed that the firm hired someone else to do its work as an electrical subcontractor for Doracon, the firm owned by Dixon’s one-time boyfriend, Ronald H. Lipscomb.

 DALE G. CLARK
     In March 2006, a month after the Utech stories, The Sun reported that Dixon’s council president office had paid Dale Clark’s firm, Ultimate Network Integration, nearly $600,000 without a contract to manage the council’s computers. Dixon reprimanded two staff members for the lapse.

      That’s when Rohrbaugh’s office began its investigation. The office subpoenaed tens of thousands of documents from the city, Utech, Ultimate Network Integration and Doracon.

     Boyer and Clark were the first indictments. They pleaded guilty to tax charges and agreed to cooperate in Rohrbaugh’s continuing investigation of City Hall. Dixon was never mentioned in their charges.

RONALD LIPSCOMB
     The Baltimore developer is best understood in The Sun’s profile of him earlier this year.
He gained fame in Baltimore through his partnership with John Paterakis Sr.’s development efforts to transform Harbor East.

     Lipscomb gained more publicity when it was revealed that he and Dixon had had a romantic relationship while he was seeking tax breaks from the city and when Dixon was council president.
The indictments against Dixon showed that they traveled to several cities, including New York, where he lavished her with gifts. He also gave her a gift certificate for a fur coat. Dixon’s perjury charges stem from accusations that she did not disclose Lipscomb’s gifts on forms filed with the city ethics board. Ethics rule say elected officials must list gifts from people doing business with the city.

     In addition, Lipscomb and another developer, Patrick Turner, donated gift cards to the city that were intended to be given to the poor. The state’s indictment against Dixon says she stole the cards and used them for her personal use.
Lipscomb and Paterakis, however, were eventually indicted for violating campaign finance laws for paying for a $12,500 poll for City Councilwoman Helen Holton. Both men pleaded guilty to the charges, requiring them to pay fines. Lipscomb agreed to continue to cooperate and is likely to testify in the Dixon trial.
ARNOLD M. WEINER and DALE P. KELBERMAN
     Dixon’s legal team is led by two well known defense attorneys: Arnold M. Weiner and Dale P. Kelberman. According to Weiner’s bio, he has been both an Assistant United States Attorney and assistant attorney general for Maryland.

     “He was lead defense attorney in the high profile prosecution of Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel and Congressman Edward Garmatz,” his bio states.

     Dixon should take comfort in Weiner’s record. Mandel’s 1977 conviction was eventually vacated in 1987. Garmatz’s case was dismissed. Kelberman, meanwhile, has been a local, state and federal prosecutor.

     Their work has already forced Rohrbaugh to toss out his first indictment against Dixon because they proved that state prosecutors used evidence that was off limits, protected by legislative immunity. That is, Dixon’s actions as a lawmaker can not be used against her.

 THE JURORS
The 12 city residents chosen over the next two days will sit in on what is one of the most high-profile public corruption trials ever in Maryland. In their hands rest the fate of the city’s first female mayor. If they find her guilty of any of the seven charges facing her, Dixon would likely leave office.

     If they find her not guilty, Dixon will face the perjury charges. If so, you could be reviewing this dramatis personae again very soon.