Agents from the FBI on Monday raided several offices connected to Milton Tillman Jr., the man with several criminal convictions who prosecutors say controls about 80 percent of Baltimore City’s bail bond market.
The FBI raided Tillman’s 4 Aces Bail Bonds at 2332 E. Monument St. in Baltimore, along with at least three other locations, including the 1000 block of Greenmount Avenue; the 3800 block of Kimble Road; and the 1100 block of North Point Boulevard, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed.
FBI agents were seen carrying boxes from Tillman’s two downtown Baltimore locations.
Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for Maryland’s top federal prosecutor Rod Rosenstein, said she would only confirm that the searches occurred, but could provide no additional information. She also would not confirm that an investigation exists nor would she say what federal agents are seeking.
Tillman’s attorney, Dwight Pettit, said he heard the Internal Revenue Service also was involved with the raid, leading him to believe it had little to do with the last criminal investigation into Tillman during which city prosecutors alleged he “double posted” properties to let dangerous suspects walk free without paying money.
“If the FBI and IRS are involved, I can’t see how that involves state actions in terms of bail bonds,” Pettit said, adding that he had not spoken to Tillman since the raid.
Pettit said he believes the bondsman was out of town.
Law enforcement officials say Tillman is known to have connections to Baltimore’s drug scene, especially in East Baltimore. Court records show Tillman has been convicted of a handgun violation, charges of conspiring to bribe a public official, and tax evasion.
Last year, Tillman, along with his son, Milton Tillman III, and Bernard Dixon, were acquitted of corruption charges in Baltimore City Circuit Court over the alleged “double posting” of bonds.
Pettit derided the state’s case at the time, saying prosecutors “wasted all this time and energy on a non-case.”
But prosecutors vowed at the time to not yield in their attempt to crack down on the city’s bail bond industry, said Margaret Burns, a spokeswoman for Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy.
“The state will not be deterred,” Burns said.
Examiner Staff Writer Jaime Malarkey contributed to this report.
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