Real-life model for The Wire's Naresse Campbell indicted

A grand jury has indicted the sitting mayor of Baltimore on corruption charges. Mayor Sheila A. Dixon is a former City Councilwoman. She was the inspiration for the character Naresse Campbell on HBO's The Wire:

"Sheila A. Dixon, a Democrat and and the basis for the shrewd and calculating character Naresse Campbell on HBO's "The Wire," was indicted by a grand jury on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office.

The 55-year-old former Baltimore City councilwoman is accused of accepting gifts, including a $2,000 gift certificate at a Baltimore furrier and an airplane ticket, from her then-boyfriend, developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, whom she dated from 2003 to 2004 while he lobbied the city for millions in tax credits for development projects, the Baltimore Sun reported." [WaPo]

Dixon allegedly took gifts from a lobbyist whom she was also dating at the time. She argued in her defense that the gifts were not improper because she received them in the context of a romantic relationship. Generally speaking, public officials are allowed to receive presents from close friends and family, but not from any old citizen.

If the issue were simply the gifts, Davis might have a point. The problem, however, is that Dixon did not recuse herself on votes that affected her boyfriend. The fact that she was romantically involved with him only compounds the apparent wrongdoing. An official shouldn't be ruling on issues that directly affect a paramour, regardless of whether their partner gives them presents.

[Photo: Actress Marlyne Afflack, who played Naresse Campbell on The Wire.]

Comments

[Eric Jaffa]

If Baltimore law allows politicians to accepts thousands in cash/merchandise from "close friends," then it shouldn't.

That's a loophole which permits corruption.

It reminds me of then Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) accepting a ride in a private plane for a vacation, and then claiming it's OK because the ride was a gift from a friend.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

I'm not sure what the ethics law is in Baltimore, but I agree in principle. I assume there's some kind of loophole because her "dating defense" wouldn't make any sense otherwise.

[julia]

She's also accused of hitting people up for gift card donations to give to poor families and then using the cards for her christmas shopping

Dixon was indicted Friday on 12 counts, including perjury and theft, mostly for activity that occurred while she was City Council president. And most of the charges against her suggest an affinity for both high-end and big-box retail.

At one point in December 2005, the indictment says, Dixon brazenly called an unnamed developer and hit him up for $500 worth of Best Buy gift cards, which she said would be donated to needy families.

Instead, five days later — and a week before Christmas — the future mayor allegedly strolled into a Best Buy in downtown Baltimore and spent 19 of the 20 gift cards, walking out with a digital camcorder and a PlayStation 2 controller, among other goods.

Similar scenarios played out several times, always around Christmas, always with gift cards that, at least in name, were supposed to be handed out to the poor, the indictment says.

which, if true - she makes a hundred and fifty grand a year, she lives rent-free in an official residence, and she does her shopping in freaking Baltimore, where one in four people lives below the poverty line. Stealing (undeclared) money from poor families to buy consumer electronics is not really a borderline issue, and it's definitely illegal.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

So, if all of the above is true, she's Clay Davis and Naresse Campbell. Sheeeit!

[Bruce Godfrey]

I have not read the indictment but this link to the docket entries of State v. Sheila Ann Dixon may be of some interest. There may be additional case numbers as the case proceeds through different stages at the Baltimore City Circuit Court.

Generally an indictment replaces any preliminary hearing to which Mayor Dixon might be entitled. She will be entitled to a pre-trial motions hearing primarily to suppress illegal or otherwise improper evidence. I think a jury will be pretty sympathetic to her in Baltimore City.