A Maryland state senator being investigated by the FBI received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from a grocery store chain that benefited by legislation he pushed allowing the transfer of a lucrative liquor license, The Examiner has learned.
Sen. Ulysses Currie‘s (D-Prince George’s) home and the headquarters of Prince George’s-based Shoppers Food and Pharmacy were raided by FBI agents Thursday. Files, a laptop and boxes were taken by agents after an hours-long search of both locations.
Currie did not return calls for comment.
A spokeswoman for SuperValue, Shoppers parent company, said Currie has done consulting work for the company, but declined to comment on the length of his employment or salary.
But Currie’s financial disclosure forms filed with the state’s ethics commission make no mention of the grocery store, which could prove to be an ethics violation, lawmakers said. And since 2004, Currie has received $7,500 in campaign contributions from SuperValue, campaign finance records show.
That funding was received during the time Currie played a key role in helping Shoppers transfer a liquor license from a Takoma Park store to one in College Park, a move made despite the protests of the College Park City Council.
Under a Prince George’s regulation, grocery store chains aren’t allowed to sell alcohol – unless grandfathered in before the law changed.
“The Takoma Park store had a license for a long time, but if you wanted to move the license you had to jump through hoops,” said long-serving College Park City Council member Robert Catlin.
The breakthrough for the chain came with a state law pushed through the General Assembly by Currie and other lawmakers in 2005. Months later, the county liquor commission approved the license transfer and the College Park store has been selling alcohol ever since. The city council and other residents heavily protested the transfer during commission hearings, which Currie also attended.
“Senator Currie’s business relationship with SuperValue … is obviously troubling. This is the sort of relationship that undermines voters’ trust in the system,” said Ryan O’Donnell of Common Cause Maryland, a group that promotes open government.
The FBI has remained mum on the issue. Currie had not been charged with any wrongdoing late Friday.
Examiner staff writer Jamie Malarkey contributed to this report.
