Three months after leaving a position after a tumultuous mandate as president of the Baltimore City Council, Nick J. Mosby has returned to public life as a member of a powerful state board that supervises $ 6 billion in annual sales of lottery, profits of casinos and sports bets.
The five-year period of Mosby in the Lottery Control Commission and Mosby Games was approved on Friday night by Maryland’s Senate in a vote of the 34-11 party line.
It will be paid $ 18,000 per year (or $ 90,000 during the life of your mandate) and will attend the monthly supervision meetings of the Commission.
Ten Republicans voted against what was officially described on the floor as “nominated 22” (Mosby), while 34 Democrats, including the leadership of the party, voted in favor of their appointment.
One of the governors Wes Moore’s “Green Bag” nominations For the Senate, its appointment occurs despite a documented history of fiscal encumbrances, false statements, water bills, poor campaign financing management and a violation of the Ethics Code.
As a state legislator between 2017 and 2020, Mosby established a LLC that federal prosecutors said spent Thousands of dollars Buy expensive clothes even though it does not have a known source of income. During the same period, his car was recovered and his salaries adorned by criminal student loans.
As president of the City Council, between 2020 and 2024, Mosby fought against a federal investigation of his finances and his then wife, which finally resulted in Marilyn Mosby, the former lawyer of the state of Baltimore, for charges of perjury and mortgage fraud.
In his ex -wife’s trial, Mosby admitted liar who paid a fiscal tax of the IRS of $ 45,000 because the truth would bother his wife.
During the trial, Prosecutors said Mosby also lied when he claimed $ 36,000 in beneficial donations on his 2014 and 2015 taxes.
Prosecutors sought to question Mosby about these deductions. But Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby put on the side of Marilyn Mosby, who argued That increasing the “improper” of the couple to the jury was unfair because they were not charged by fiscal evasion by prosecutors or the IRS.
Online message from the Maryland Republican Party before the Senate vote last Friday. (MDGOP, Instagram)
False campaign presentations
Multiple campaign reports of Friends of Nick Mosby were equally misleading.
He It could not be informed $ 25,000 in donor money to the State Elections Board, Misrepresented donations Baltimore Gas & Electric, on the list Incorrect addresses for dozens of campaign taxpayers and falsely reported a contribution of the deceased grandfather of his wife.
As president of the City Council, he helped implement a near Riot in the City Council and was governed in violation of Baltimore’s ethics law by Judge of the Circuit Court Lawrence Fletcher-Hill.
In each case, Mosby avoided serious sanctions. He avoided $ 2,800 in fines by the State Elections Board by returning some donations and agreeing to hire an DC accounting expert as a treasurer of his campaign committee.
Last March, He amended His statement of ethics of the city, revealing a legal defense fund that had previously rejected, after almost a year of disputes with the Baltimore Ethics Board.
Online advertising for Mosby Defense Fund, which was subject to scrutiny by Baltimore Ethics Board and then resulted in the conclusion of a judge of a violation of ethics by Nick Mosby.
Testimony of the Senate
“There is nothing that I have done in the past” that is equivalent to “fraud, waste, abuse or corruption in my personal life or as a member of this agency or the City Council,” the Senate Executive Nominations Committee told the Senate Nominations Committee last Monday.
I was answering a question by Senator Justin D. Ready (R, Carroll-Frederick): “Why shouldn’t your background, tax problems with others (matters), will disqualify it from this fiduciary management position?”
“Obviously, the media would like to talk about things that took place in the mid -30, more than a decade ago,” Mosby continued, now 45 years.
“I think that absolutely has nothing to do about my reason and ready to serve in this position that Governor Wes Moore has finally seen me adequate to do it, and I hope this body also gives me the opportunity.”
“Things that took place in the mid -30.
Senator Antonio Hayes (D, 40) praised Mosby to the Committee as “a dedicated public servant with a strong history of community leadership, experience and commitment.”
The president of the Senate, Ferguson (D, 46) further applauded the disposition of the nominee of “returning to the service”, saying:
“We have worked together for 15 years on several different issues, from horse races to complicated problems of the city, and in each situation I have seen their dedication to try to reach the correct answer.”
Senator Antonio Hayes (D, 40º) and BELOW The president of the Senate, Bill Ferguson, takes care of Nick Mosby at the Senate Hearing last week. (YouTube)
Another criminal water bill
Although Mosby promised the Senate committee that these “problems problems”, as they called them, were in their past, The beer He has discovered that he currently has a pending water in the reservoir Hill Rowhouse that he shares with his daughters.
Twice before, while the president of the City Council, Mosby did not pay his water bills. Every time, he only paid later The beer Published data on your crime.
• Nick and Marilyn Mosby have not paid their water bill in a year (02/28/22)
• Baltimore’s second best elected official is not paying his water bill, again (4/9/24)
Last April, for example, he owed the city $ 1,031, without paying its water bill for the previous 15 months. He He paid that invoice After it was publicly exposed, but has not paid anything since then, according to online records.
As of today, it costs $ 1,047.93 in arrears in the property of Reservoir Hill, which accumulated in monthly increases of approximately $ 100 during the last year.
The current water bill owned by Mosby in respite Hill. (DPW)
code of Conduct
In a statement about Instagram before the vote of the Senate, Mosby described his life as “dedicated to serving the people of Maryland”, saying that he has promoted minority businesses, expanded the opportunities for the training of the workforce and defended the efforts to retain the preakness in Baltimore.
“These experiences have equipped me for this new responsibility.
Only a Democrat, Mary-Dulany James from Harford County, voted against Mosby’s nomination. She did not give her reasons on the Senate floor, and has not responded to a request for The beer For a public comment.
As one of the 10 Republicans who voted against Mosby, Ready said that his main concern is to power Mosby about an agency responsible for handling so much money and regulating the wide casino and the online sports betting industries.
“This is a fiduciary position.
“It’s not that Mr. Mosby’s problems occurred a long time ago.
The Lottery Control and State Games Commission is legally responsible for regulating all state game programs, which include the traditional lottery, video lottery terminals, casino board games, instant tickets lottery machines, electronic game devices and instant bingo machines.
Mosby is required to sign a “code of conduct” that, among other things, asks a commissioner to “avoid situations in which the private interest in external commercial activities and opportunities for financial or personal gains can influence the member or employee to give a favored treatment to any individual or entity.”
It must also be committed, as one of the seven commissioners, “not directly or indirectly accept any gift, tip, service, compensation, trip, accommodation, courtesy service or anything of value” of a licensee, applicant, employee, casino lobbyist or other representative.
