Richard Lank, a Democratic candidate for Congress, was released from jail Monday after being held for not going to a hearing on nearly $40,000 he owed in child support.
“I did take the responsibility as soon as I learned there was such a problem,” said Lank, who aims to unseat Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a Republican whose district includes parts of Carroll, Harford andBaltimore counties.
Lank, who is divorced, said he had missed a contempt hearing because his daughter had run away from the home of his ex-wife.
“I missed a meeting because I was more concerned about her,” Lank said.
He turned himself in to the Montgomery County Sheriff?s Office on Friday and was jailed without bail for the weekend, said Chief Deputy Darren Popkin, a spokesman for the office.
Rebecca Rush, Lank?s campaign treasurer and business partner, brought a check Monday for $2,100 to free Lank, and Montgomery County Circuit Judge David Boynton released Lank on the stipulation that he keep up with the nearly $35,000 he has left to pay, Popkin said.
Lank, 55, said he did not know he owed so much.
He lived in Montgomery before divorcing his wife and moving to Middletown in Frederick County, where he runs a renewable-energy company, Grey Goes Green, which Mount Airy could contract to build wind turbines at Windy Ridge Park.
He has three children from that marriage, a 17-year-old daughter who lives with her mother in Montgomery, and two adults who live in Europe. He also has one grandchild.
Several foreclosures and property liens have also been filed against Lank in Montgomery County, court records show.
Lank said he would continue running, and “if it brings more attention to the real issues,” it could end up being a positive ordeal.
