One of Maryland?s largest public corruption cases ? and most bitter legal battles ? will end Tuesday when former state Sen. Thomas Bromwell plans to plead guilty to racketeering charges in federal court.
Once a powerful Baltimore County Democrat, Bromwell, 58, is expected to face six to eight years in federal prison when he pleads guilty to filing a false tax return and racketeering conspiracy. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz.
“It was a very difficult decision for him, but taking into account what?s best for him, what?s best for his wife, what?s best for his family, he believes that the best thing to do was to admit that he did make some mistakes and to put this matter to rest so that he and his family can move on with their lives,” Bromwell?s lawyer Barry Pollack said.
Bromwell?s wife, Mary Patricia, plans to plead guilty to a single count of mail fraud. Sentencing guidelines call for her to serve two to three years.
Thomas Bromwell had served on the First Mariner Bank board until his term expired in April, more than a year after a federal grand jury indicted him.
Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein declined Sunday to comment on Bromwell?s expected guilty plea, but last week he said he expected his office to take an aggressive stance, generally, toward public corruption.
“If criminals know you are not prosecuting public corruption, they will try to corrupt public officials,” he said. “It?s shocking. Who would think in the 21st century people would be engaging in such blatant fraud? Congressmen taking houses and boats as bribes and people stashing money in the freezer. But it still happens.”
Bromwell served in the General Assembly for 23 years. He and his wife were indicted in October 2005 in connection with their dealings with W. David Stoffregen, the former president of Poole and Kent, a mechanical-contracting firm.
Prosecutors say the Bromwells received more than $85,000 in construction work on their house and $192,000 for a no-show job taken by Mary Patricia Bromwell at a company operated by Poole and Kent. In exchange, Bromwell helped Stoffregen?s companies win multimillion-dollar minority contracts, prosecutors allege.
Stoffregen pleaded guilty in November. Six others have pleaded guilty in connection to the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
