Baltimore County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, who is contemplating a run for governor or Congress, has quietly given away to family members his stock in two closely held companies.
A financial disclosure statement filed by Ruppersberger this year shows that he turned over all the stock of International Marketing Network Inc. to his father, Al, and his brother, Reese. The county executive was the sole owner of the company, which has an exclusive marketing agreement for the pothole-patching material Perma Patch.
In addition, the report shows Ruppersberger turned over to his son, Cory, a 50 percent interest in a debt counseling company called Smart Solutions. The son already owned the other 50 percent of that business.
Ruppersberger's spokeswoman, Elise Armacost, said the shares in IMN were given as a gift. The shares in Smart Solutions were sold to the county executive's son for $100, she said.
In a Sun article last year detailing Ruppersberger's financial holdings, several ethics experts said that the county executive's private business interests could undermine public confidence in the government because they posed potential conflicts of interest. Ruppersberger said he was in compliance with the ethics law.
Barred from seeking another term as county executive, Ruppersberger, a Democrat, has been thinking about a run for governor. Recently, however, he indicated that he was considering running for a congressional seat.
"I am keeping all of my options open, including the private sector," the county executive said.
In a written response to questions about his recent stock transactions, Ruppersberger wrote that he divested himself of his interest in the two companies because "both entities had become a matter of unnecessary focus -- especially on my family. I separated myself from those entities to remove my family from that process."
Ruppersberger, whose financial holdings have come under scrutiny in the past, also disclosed in the annual report for the first time that he has taken free rides on planes owned by MBNA, a credit card company with regional headquarters in Baltimore County.
In the disclosure statement, which covers calendar year 2000, Ruppersberger said he was disclosing the trips even though he was not required to do so under the county ethics code.
He said the plane rides and Maine vacations were at the invitation of his longtime friend Charles M. Cawley, president of MBNA.
