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Mayor Dixon Indicted on New Charges

Reported by: Christian Schaffer
Email: christian.schaffer@wmar.com
Last Update: 7/30 1:50 pm
Mayor Dixon Indicted on New Charges
Mayor Dixon's Perjury Indictment (2.3MB)
Mayor Dixon's Theft Indictment (2.7MB)
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Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been indicted on new charges of perjury and theft.

Earlier this summer, a judge dropped some of the charges against the mayor, including perjury and misconduct in office. The State Prosecutor says the mayor failed to disclose gifts from developer Ron Lipscomb, who had dated the mayor. Now those charges have been re-filed, along with the theft charges.

The mayor spoke to reporters Wednesday night, but she did not talk directly about the indictments. She said she's not slowing down -- keeping to her public schedule even after hearing about the indictments today. ‘I'm going to stick to my schedule; that's a commitment that I make,’ she said. ‘My reaction is hey Sheila stay focused, continue to build on this and continue to serve the citizens.’

A legal expert who's been following the case says the indictments make it obvious that despite optimistic announcements from the mayor and her attorney, this case isn't going away anytime soon. ‘Theft and perjury by affidavit are not small matters,’ said Byron Warnken of the University of Baltimore School of Law. ‘I think it is very serious. She's got the best defense team out there but I think she's going to probably need it.’

The new indictment details several purchases the mayor made on a trip she and Lipscomb took to Chicago in 2004. Later, the indictment reads that ‘Dixon told Ronald H. Lipscomb she needed further help in paying for her expenditures in Chicago.'

The indictment then describes an elaborate exchange where prosecutors allege that Libscomb gave Dixon anywhere from $10 to $15-thousand in cash. Finally -- the prosecutor says Dixon failed to include any of those gifts on her financial disclosure forms. And now that Lipscomb has pleaded guilty, he must cooperate with prosecutors -- and testify against the mayor. ‘He's probably going to know things that's admissible evidence that hurts her case and helps the state prosecutor's case,’ Warnken said.

Dixon's attorney Arnold Weiner released a statement, saying, ‘The new charges are as flawed as those that were previously dismissed and we expect that they will meet the same fate.’

As for the charges that the mayor stole gift cards intended for needy families, those charges were not dropped earlier this summer, but now the state prosecutor has re-filed them as well. Essentially the mayor is back where she was when the initial indictments were released in January.

Visit our City Hall Investigation section to see all of our reports about this case.
Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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