At least some of the votes cast by Maryland state Sen. Ulysses Currie benefiting his employer ? detailed in a search warrant affidavit made public this week ? appear to fall within state ethics guidelines, attorneys said Wednesday.
In the affidavit released at the request of media organizations Tuesday, an FBI special agent said Currie improperly voted for bills that increased taxes for retailers. But the legislation benefited the grocery industry as a whole, not just Currie?s employer, Shoppers Food Warehouse.
“It?s only when a bill is specific to a legislator in his business capacity or his employer, either exclusively or part of a very small group of people, does the question of whether or not to recuse himself ever come up,” said William Somerville, ethics adviser to the General Assembly. “Farmers vote on agriculture and bankers vote on banking.”
Currie, 70, had 320 phone contacts with employees of Shoppers Food Warehouse and its parent company, SuperValu, since 2004, according to an affidavit. The lawmaker, who worked as a consultant for the Lanham-based chain, apparently reported the income on his tax returns, but not on required financial disclosure forms.
Federal agents, who conducted surveillance on Currie and raided his home May 29, are investigating possible mail and wire fraud and the “deprivation of the intangible right to honest services,” according to the affidavit. Former Maryland Gov. Marvin Mandel was convicted under the same statutes, but the conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court, according to one of the attorneys who helped exonerate him, Albert Figinski.
“The dishonest services accusation is what sent a number of politicians to jail,” Figinski said. “It?s tripped a number of politicians.”
According to the affidavit, Currie repeatedly voted to oppose reductions of sales tax discounts to retail vendors such as supermarkets.
Barry F. Scher, a lobbyist for Giant Food, said he recalls working on the same legislation and knew Currie worked for Shoppers.
“I had been told that in passing,” Scher said. “I just shrugged my shoulders and kept moving.”
Currie helped facilitate a new Shoppers store at the recently redeveloped Mondawmin Mall, which received state subsidies, according to the document. He spoke frequently with company executives in 2005, when a bill allowing the transfer of a liquor license from one Shoppers store to another was before his committee.
Maryland GOP leaders seized the release of the affidavit as an opportunity to renew their calls for Currie to step down as chairman of the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee.
“While Currie has not yet been charged with a federal crime, he has clearly violated state ethics laws by hiding his employment as a lobbyist for a large supermarket chain,” state GOP chairman James Pelura said in a statement.
Currie declined comment.
