The University System of Maryland Board of Regents announced Friday in a press release that regent and former Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel violated the regents? ethics policy during the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Maryland General Assembly sessions.
The board?s Committee on Audit appointed a panel last month to review allegations that Mandel had violated a policy adopted in 1999 that states, “A member of the Board of Regents shall not, for compensation, assist or represent any party in any matter before the General Assembly. … Questions or concerns about compliance with this policy may be brought to the Board of Regents Committee on Audit.”
The audit committee and the board concluded, “during the 2004 and 2005 legislative sessions, Mandel represented a client as a registered and paid lobbyist, in violation of the policy,” but said Mandel had used his regent status to gain favor for himself or his client. The report also said, “during the 2006 legislative session, Mandel served as legal counsel to a client included efforts to oppose pending legislation” and because the lobbying was “as part of his paid representation of clients,” it was another ethics violation.
Overall, the report concluded, Mandel?s actions, “as they relate to the ethics policy, were not willful or intentional.”
Mandel, in the midst of a 10-year run as governor, was found guilty of mail fraud and racketeering in 1977 and served 19 months in prison. That decision was later overturned and Mandel received a pardon from President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
The USM board, which oversees the University of Maryland and all the state universities except Morgan State, has no authority to impose sanctions against its members. The regents said in a press release late Friday afternoon that Mandel “has assured the board that, in the future, he will not engage in activities that violate the board?s public ethics policy.”
With the announcement of its findings, the Board of Regents said, it considers its investigation closed.
