This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/former-baltimore-mayor-catherine-pugh-to-be-sentenced-in-healthy-holly-scandal/2020/02/26/6a20c9dc-58c6-11ea-9b35-def5a027d470_story.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Former Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh sentenced to 3 years prison in ‘Healthy Holly’ case Former Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh sentenced to 3 years prison in ‘Healthy Holly’ case
(about 4 hours later)
BALTIMORE — In her three years as mayor, Catherine Pugh was on a mission to burnish the image of her adoptive hometown, a city battered by rioting, a soaring murder rate, and a history of corruption at City Hall and in the police department. BALTIMORE — In her three years as mayor, a seat she often described as her “dream job,” Catherine E. Pugh sought to burnish the image of her adoptive hometown, a city battered by rioting, a soaring murder rate, and a history of corruption at City Hall and in the police department.
Yet, as she was sentenced to 3 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, Pugh became a symbol of the dysfunction that has long permeated Maryland’s largest city and sown distrust among its beleaguered residents.  Yet, as she was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, Pugh personified the dysfunction that has long permeated Maryland’s largest city and sown distrust among its 600,000 residents.
Pugh used her series of self-published “Healthy Holly” children’s books to orchestrate a scheme in which she generated more than $800,000 in income while failing to deliver tens of thousands of copies of the books to public schools. “This became a very large fraud,” U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow said before punishing Pugh for using her self-published “Healthy Holly” children’s books to generate more than $800,000 in income while failing to deliver tens of thousands of the books to youngsters.
The fraudulent sales to entities with business before city and state government helped fund Pugh’s political campaigns and allowed her to buy and renovate a second home in Baltimore, prosecutors have said. The fraudulent sales to entities with business before city and state government helped fund straw donations to Pugh’s political campaigns and allowed her to buy and renovate a second home in Baltimore.
“I accept total responsibility,” Pugh, 69, said in an unusual presentencing video that her attorneys submitted to U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow, excerpts of which were broadcast Wednesday by the Baltimore Sun. Responding to defense attorneys’ contention that the public humiliation the former mayor endured should be considered as part of the punishment, Chasanow said, “Yes, the impact on Ms. Pugh has been great. But the impact on the city is also very great and very tragic.”
Her voice halting as soft piano music plays in the background, Pugh in the video is seated alone against a black backdrop, apparently speaking extemporaneously as she apologizes for the harm she caused to residents, friends, partners and “the city’s image.” In addition to three years in prison, the judge also imposed three years of probation and ordered Pugh to pay $411,948 in restitution and forfeit more than $600,000, including her home in Baltimore and nearly $17,800 from her campaign account.
“I am sorry,” Pugh says. “I don’t know any other words that could be stronger. I am so sorry. I’m really sorry.” Steve Silverman, Pugh’s attorney, asked for a sentence of one year, describing the 69-year-old former mayor as a “broken woman” whose crimes were out of character for someone who has devoted decades to public service.
Pugh’s attorneys, in a memorandum to Chasanow, recommended a sentence of 366 days, describing the former mayor as “remorseful” over ruining “a reputation that took a lifetime to build.” But prosecutors, who requested a five-year sentence, countered that the duration of Pugh’s crimes — seven years — deserved the stiffest penalty.
“She is now too ashamed to spend any time in the community that she loves,” the attorneys wrote. “She corruptly ran her illegal side business out of her seat of power,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Clarke said. He described Pugh’s scam as “something right out of mobster movie.”
Pugh, her voice cracking as she addressed Chasanow, expressed remorse and said she takes “full responsibility for all I’ve done.” “I beg for forgiveness,” said Pugh, wearing a long white dress as she stood before the judge.
Her remarks echoed those she made in a presentencing video her attorneys submitted to Chasanow on Wednesday.
“I am sorry,” Pugh said in the video, seated against a plain black backdrop as soft piano music played in the background. “I don’t know any other words that could be stronger.”
Clarke cited the video in his remarks to the judge, contending Pugh, even at sentencing, was using “her skills to manipulate the message.”
Catherine E. Pugh indictmentCatherine E. Pugh indictment
Prosecutors, in their memorandum to the judge, contended that a prison term of 57 months is needed to hold Pugh “accountable for her years of continuous criminal activity” and to “restore the public’s trust in government.” Pugh’s sentencing occurred as Baltimore is enmeshed in another period of political uncertainty.
Pugh’s “brazen lies to the public” and the duration of her scheme — seven years — is evidence that “she pursued financial and political gain without a second thought about how it was harming the public’s trust,” prosecutors wrote. Her successor, Bernard C. “Jack” Young, the former City Council president who became mayor when Pugh resigned last May, is vying against six major opponents in the April 28 Democratic primary. The field includes Council President Brandon Scott and former mayor Sheila Dixon, who is attempting a second comeback after a scandal forced her to resign a decade ago.
“It was not rash behavior,” they added. “Rather, it was a recurring pattern of well-executed steps that built on each other, becoming more audacious and complex leading up to the mayoral election.” As Pugh’s sentencing date approached, dozens of her friends and relatives pleaded for leniency in letters to the judge. Her supporters include Kweisi Mfume, who is campaigning to fill deceased Rep. Elijah E. Cummings’ congressional seat, and former Mayor Kurt Schmoke, who spoke on Pugh's behalf at the sentencing hearing.
Pugh’s sentencing took place as the city enters another period of political uncertainty.
Her successor, Bernard C. “Jack” Young, the former City Council president who became mayor when Pugh resigned last May, is hoping to hold the seat. Young is vying against five opponents in the April 28 Democratic primary. The field includes Council President Brandon Scott and former mayor Sheila Dixon, who is attempting a second comeback after resigning amid scandal a decade ago.
As Pugh’s sentencing date approached, dozens of her friends and relatives pleaded for leniency in letters to the judge. Those petitioning the judge included former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke and Kweisi Mfume, who is seeking the Maryland congressional seat that has been vacant since the death last fall of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.).
“Her errors in judgment,” wrote Schmoke, now the University of Baltimore’s president, “are a source of disappointment to her and to all of us who call her friend. I know that she looks forward to a time to once again contribute to society.”
Pugh was involved in Baltimore politics and government for more than 30 years, working for then-Mayor William Donald Schaefer during the 1970s and then winning election to the City Council in 1999. In 2005, then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) appointed her to a vacant House of Delegates seat.Pugh was involved in Baltimore politics and government for more than 30 years, working for then-Mayor William Donald Schaefer during the 1970s and then winning election to the City Council in 1999. In 2005, then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) appointed her to a vacant House of Delegates seat.
Pugh served in the State Senate from 2007 until her 2016 election as mayor. At one point in Annapolis, then-Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller appointed her Senate majority leader.Pugh served in the State Senate from 2007 until her 2016 election as mayor. At one point in Annapolis, then-Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller appointed her Senate majority leader.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigns amid book scandalBaltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigns amid book scandal
During the rioting that followed Freddie Gray’s death of an injury he suffered while in police custody in 2015, Pugh, along with Cummings, spent hours trying to calm raucous crowds at the west Baltimore intersection that was at the center of the unrest. During the 2015 riot that followed Freddie Gray’s death in police custody, Pugh and Cummings spent hours at the epicenter of the unrest trying to calm raucous crowds.
Later that year, Pugh announced her campaign for mayor. She defeated Dixon to claim the office. Later that year, Pugh announced her campaign for mayor.
As part of her appeal to voters, Pugh pledged to restore rectitude to City Hall, declaring that Baltimore “needs a leader who will serve with honesty, integrity and transparency. That’s who I am, and this is the job for me.” As part of her appeal to voters, Pugh declared that Baltimore “needs a leader who will serve with honesty, integrity and transparency. That’s who I am, and this is the job for me.”
Pugh, a stylish dresser and onetime marketing executive, tried as mayor to focus attention on new development projects in Baltimore, but those efforts often were eclipsed by violence that drove the city’s homicide toll above 300 by the end of her first year in office. Pugh, a stylish dresser and onetime marketing executive, tried as mayor to focus attention on new development projects in Baltimore. But her cheerleading often was eclipsed by violence that drove the city’s homicide toll above 300 by the end of her first year in office.
Despite the continuing carnage, Pugh retained support in the city’s business community and appeared headed for reelection when the “Healthy Holly” scandal erupted a year ago. Despite the continuing carnage, Pugh retained support in the city’s business community and appeared headed for reelection when the “Healthy Holly” scandal erupted a year ago. Her fall began when the Baltimore Sun reported that the University of Maryland Medical System, on whose board of directors she sat, had granted her a no-bid $500,000 contract for 100,000 copies of her book.
Her fall began when the Baltimore Sun reported that the University of Maryland Medical System, on whose board of directors she sat, had granted her a no-bid $500,000 contract for 100,000 copies of her book. Thousands of copies of the book — intended to promote nutrition and exercise — ended up in a warehouse or in Pugh’s houses and offices. Gary Brown Jr., a Pugh aide, and Roslyn Wedington, a city employee, were implicated in the scam, pleading guilty to fraud conspiracy and tax evasion.
Six weeks later, after the FBI raided her homes and as the scandal widened, Pugh resigned. In a statement read to reporters at the time by her attorney, the outgoing mayor apologized for the “harm I have caused to the image of Baltimore.” After the FBI raided her homes, Pugh resigned from office, apologizing for the “harm I have caused to the image of Baltimore.”
After the hearing, Pugh emerged from the courthouse, addressing a bank of television cameras. She delcared her love for Baltimore and made a vow: “It is not the last you will see of Catherine Pugh.” As she arrived in court Thursday, she appeared visibly shaken, briefly turning to gaze at the more than 100 spectators that filled the gallery as her attorney patted her on her back. More than three hours later, as she departed the courthouse, Pugh paused before a gauntlet of television cameras and smiled.
“Nobody loves Baltimore more than I do,” she said, adding that she looks “forward to rebuilding my life and getting my life back together.”
“It’s not the last you'll see of Catherine Pugh," the former mayor promised before disappearing into the back of a black SUV.
‘No way’: Pugh book deals raise eyebrows in the book-publishing world‘No way’: Pugh book deals raise eyebrows in the book-publishing world
Baltimore mayor apologizes for deal to sell self-published children’s booksBaltimore mayor apologizes for deal to sell self-published children’s books
Critical Carlos reads ‘Healthy Holly’Critical Carlos reads ‘Healthy Holly’
Local newsletters: Local headlines (8 a.m.) | Afternoon Buzz (4 p.m.)Local newsletters: Local headlines (8 a.m.) | Afternoon Buzz (4 p.m.)
Like PostLocal on Facebook | Follow @postlocal on Twitter | Latest local newsLike PostLocal on Facebook | Follow @postlocal on Twitter | Latest local news