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It’s sad to hear all the stories of political corruption these days. But in Baltimore, the Maryland State Prosecutor’s office has done something very clever as far as turning something negative into something very positive.
For those of you who may not have been following local Baltimore politics, Mayor Sheila Dixon has been in a lot of hot water of late. She was investigated and indicted on various charges of misappropriation, theft, bribery, and perjury. Among other things, the evidence showed that she took gift cards which were intended to be given to the poor, and used them to buy herself a camcorder and an Xbox. She also accepted what appeared to be a bribe of gift cards of purchase expensive furs.
In 2009, a jury returned a “guilty” verdict on one misdemeanor count of fraudulent misappropriation, and she pleaded guilty to a count of perjury. As part of a plea agreement between her and the state prosecutor, she agreed to resign as mayor, to perform 500 hours of community service at Our Daily Bread, and to pay a donation of $45,000 to the Bea Gaddy Family Center or an HIV/AIDS charity. In return, she would avoid prison time, would remain eligible for a state pension, and would even be able to have the criminal charges expunged from her record after a probationary period. You can view a PDF of the plea agreement here.
One of the more fascinating parts of the plea agreement was that Dixon would agree to have the evidence used in the trial auctioned off by the state prosecutor’s office on eBay, with all proceeds going to benefit Youthworks of Baltimore, which provides summer jobs for Baltimore City public school students. It was a clever move by the Prosecutor’s Office to put some positive public relations spin on an otherwise sad situation. I notice that the prosecutor’s office knows its way around eBay, even springing for the extra 75 cents to put a headline under the listing. 😉
The auction runs until Wednesday, March 17. The prosecutor has even said that he’ll throw in the bright red “evidence” tape that was used during the trial. 🙂
Here are links to the actual auctions.
$6000 Burnt Umber Mink Coat from Paris 
$3000 Nepal Persian Lamb Fur Coat
Xbox
Samsung Video Camera
Here’s hoping these go for a lot of money given their historical value, and that this unfortunate incident can turn into good for some of Baltimore’s neediest. And even if you don’t win the auction, do consider clicking on one of those charities’ links to give them a little something.
