Prominent developer Edward St. John was charged Friday with 11 civil counts of making illegal campaign contributions to Gov. Martin O?Malley and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith.
St. John agreed to pay a $55,000 fine and contribute another $55,000 to College Bound, a nonprofit that assists underprivileged children in Baltimore with college expenses, to settle the charges, which alleged he paid vice presidents at his real estate company to make political campaign donations on his behalf.
“Maryland citizens should have the opportunity to know who is contributing to what politician in order to judge the actions of their elected officials,” state prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh said in a statement.
“The use of third parties or LLCs to disguise the true source of the contributions clearly violates the spirit of Maryland?s law.”
Ryan O?Donnell, executive director of political watchdog group Common Cause Maryland, said St.
John?s actions show the need to reform campaign contribution law.
“This is like the Wild West of campaign finance law,” he said. “It?s good to see a new sheriff come in and take a look at it.”
Well-known in the business community, St. John serves on the board of directors of the Maryland Science Center, the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and the Johns Hopkins University Real Estate Institute, among other civic organizations.
The charges stem from contributions made by several of St. John?s vice presidents whom he then reimbursed, prosecutors said.
On May 11, 2006, six vice presidents at St. John Properties gave between $2,500 and $3,500 to
O?Malley and, also in 2006, five vice presidents gave between $1,000 and $2,000 to Smith, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said there was “insufficient evidence” to establish St. John knowingly violated Maryland law, and therefore charged him civilly, instead of criminally.
St. John also disclosed more than $300,000 of legal contributions made to both parties during one election cycle from his various limited liability companies, including 18 that were formed in 2005 with no public records associating them with St. John Properties.
Internal documents at St. John Properties referred to these companies as having “untraceable” bank accounts, prosecutors said.
William J. Murphy, St. John?s attorney, said his client was “pleased” to have settled the matter.
“Mr. St. John … endeavored at all times to follow the complex requirements of the Maryland Election Law,” he said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the investigation began after Common Cause published a report about the unusual nature of the contributions, showing that public documents shed no light about the real owners of the LLCs.
O?Malley?s spokeswoman Christine Hansen said the governor?s campaign had no knowledge of St. John?s illegal donations.
