Federal prosecutors have ordered three state transportation agencies to turn over communications “of any sort” with a regional grocery chain in the latest round of subpoenas in the investigation of state Sen. Ulysses Currie.
The U.S. Attorney?s Office subpoenaed the Motor Vehicle Administration, Maryland Transit Administration and State Highway Administration on Tuesday, requesting documents concerning Currie?s role in the $70 million redevelopment of Mondawmin Mall in West Baltimore. The Prince George?s County Democrat is under investigation for his work as a consultant for the Shoppers Food Warehouse, which he did not list on required financial disclosure forms.
Both the MVA and MTA own or lease property adjacent to Mondawmin Mall ? where a Shoppers opened last year ? said Jack Cahalan, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Transportation.
The FBI raided Currie?s home and the Lanham-based headquarters May 29, seizing records pertaining to a traffic light project near a Shoppers store. Earlier this month, the SHA released a 2005 e-mail from its administrator, who urged staff members to expedite the project because Currie believed it was “very important.”
Currie?s attorney, Dale Kelberman, declined to comment, but said he was awaiting a response to a June 12 letter Currie sent to the state?s Board of Elections, asking whether he could use campaign funds to finance his legal defense.
In the letter, Currie, 70, said he did not expect charges to be filed, but said his defense was important to his “viability as a candidate in future elections.”
Maryland?s attorney general is relying on a 1993 opinion that says campaign funds can only be used to finance the defense in a criminal prosecution if there is a “direct connection between the candidacy and the prosecution,” officials said.
Currie is the chairman of the powerful Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, and his campaign account held more than $358,000 as of Feb. 1, according to a report filed with the Elections Board.
