Local News

Dixon's Former Spokesman Subpoenaed

BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) ― Mayor Sheila Dixon's former spokesman has been subpoenaed in a widening probe that included a raid on her home.

Anthony McCarthy's attorney, A. Dwight Pettit, said the former spokesman "will fully cooperate with whatever it is they want."

"I have no idea what they want or what they're looking for," Pettit said.

Mike Hellgren reports the subpoena of McCarthy is one of a number served recently on current and former Dixon employees.

State prosecutors have not commented on the recent raid or subpoenas, but have looked in the past into Dixon's financial dealings as City Council president, including contracts with companies employing Dixon's sister and her former campaign chairman.

Dixon served as City Council president from 1999 until 2007, when she was sworn in to finish the term of now-Gov. Martin O'Malley, who as mayor headed the Board of Estimates that approves city contracts.

Dixon maintains she has done nothing wrong and the Baltimore City Board of Ethics cleared her last year of any wrongdoing.

McCarthy was Dixon's chief of staff for nine months in 1999 and 2000 when she was president of the council. When Dixon became mayor, McCarthy was brought in to oversee communications and was credited with softening her image.

McCarthy abruptly left in November 2007 after revelations that he was being investigated by Baltimore County police. No charges were filed.

McCarthy is the 10th person reported to have been subpoenaed, including seven city employees.

Prosecutors and police spent about seven hours inside Dixon's West Baltimore home Tuesday, leaving with six boxes of documents.

Dixon left Baltimore for a mayor's conference in Miami Friday, still dogged by questions.

Published reports reveal prosecutors questioned a furrier in Baltimore County about whether Mayor Dixon stored her furs there.

She wore one of her furs on WJZ's New Years show.

Sources say that means the prosecutor is looking at whether the furs were gifts from people doing business with the city.

In financial disclosure forms over the past seven years, Dixon never declared receiving any furs as gifts.

The mayor has declined answering questions about the furs.

"I own several, and I'm not going to go into the personal items that I own," said Dixon.

Also, prosecutors are close to seating a grand jury which is a critical step before bringing any charges against the mayor.

"Every prosecutor would tell you the joke is a prosecutor could get a ham sandwich indicted, and what that means is, nobody's allowed in that grand jury room except the grand jurors and the prosecutor," said legal analyst Byron Warnken. "It's not too hard to win when you're the only team on the field."

The mayor is charged with no crime. If she were indicted, she could still govern.

One example is the mayor of Detroit, indicted on perjury and misconduct charges in March. He's still on the job today.

"Maybe she'd be in trouble politically, but legally, I think she's fine because remember, an indictment is only an accusation," said Warnken.

The prosecutor is also looking at whether the mayor voted on contracts that benefitted her sister's employer. That employer, Mildred Boyer, was found guilty on tax-related charges.

Dixon's name was not mentioned at the time. Her lawyer believed that cleared the mayor.

Another problem for the mayor involves her former campaign manager. The city paid his company thousands of dollars to work on the City Council's computers with no contract.

Mayor Dixon has strongly denied any wrongdoing in any of these cases.

"We don't know what people have told the prosecutor, and we don't know what the prosecutor found," said legal analyst Andy Levy.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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