Several major politicians ? including Gov. Martin O?Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Mayor Sheila Dixon ? are considering giving back thousands of dollars in campaign contributions after Baltimore County police?s major bust of illegal video gaming machines.
Carroll Bond III, 44, of Cockeysville, president of Carbond Inc., has donated about $40,000 to a wide range of politicians from both parties, including former Gov. Robert Ehrlich, Senate President Thomas Mike Miller, House Speaker Michael Busch and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith.
But now some lawmakers say they?re worried the money is tainted, because police seized about 150 of Bond?s video gaming machines from 41 locations in Baltimore County on May 8.
“Mayor Dixon has never heard of him before,” said Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for Dixon, who received $4,000 from Bond. “She has her treasurer looking for any donations he made to her campaign and will be either returning them or donating an equal amount to a worthy charity.”
Franchot?s campaign spokesman, Tim Daly, said the comptroller ? who received $1,000 from Bond ? was “in the process of refunding that contribution now.”
“We have made a concerted effort to make sure the campaign is not receiving donations from gambling interests,” Daly said. “This one slipped through the cracks.”
O?Malley spokesman Shaun Adamec said the governor was “obviously reviewing the matter” of the $3,500 that Bond gave him.
Bond has been charged 15 times with gambling crimes in Baltimore City and County ? but never convicted.
In 2002, he was found guilty of operating slot machines in Baltimore County District Court and was fined $750 ? but that conviction was overturned upon appeal.
Neither Bond nor his attorney returned phone calls Wednesday.
Bond has filed a lawsuit against Baltimore County and its police department seeking a judge?s order to return the machines, which he believes are legal.
“I have been singled out … therefore ending my business in the future,” Bond wrote in an affidavit in that suit.
Bond?s attorney, Steve Wyman, has given $575 to a slate of Baltimore County judges ? including the one assigned to his case, Circuit Judge Dana Levitz.
Ryan O?Donnell, executive director of political watchdog group Common Cause, said the politicians never should have accepted the donations.
“If you take money from Carbond or a non-human entity like that, it?s easy to find out what their business is,” he said. “At the end of the day, it?s an appearance issue, and if you ask me, taking special interest money in the first place outweighs any decision to return it.”
