Maryland State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh claims that he has no hobbies, and that he's just not that interesting. He says he spends long days at his Towson office and then heads home to spend time with his family in Montgomery County.
But the man with the simple lifestyle is the same one who ordered a raid last week on the home of Mayor Sheila Dixon. As television cameras rolled, Rohrbaugh's staff carted off file folders and boxes full of unknown contents. After two years of investigating contracting practices at City Hall, Rohrbaugh's office issued a flurry of new subpoenas last week to Dixon associates, some of whom are expected to testify before a city grand jury this week.
Dixon happens to be his latest investigative subject, but Rohrbaugh, 60, and his team of investigators have delved into the public, personal and financial lives of Maryland's A-list, from major political donors to the former dean of the Baltimore City Board of Liquor License Commissioners.
FOR THE RECORD
Articles in Sunday's and yesterday's editions of The Sun about the state prosecutor's investigation of Mayor Sheila Dixon misspelled the name of attorney Gerard P. Martin.
The Sun regrets the error.
In some cases, he has netted guilty pleas and fines - in one, he returned millions in stolen funds to the city school system. But others, such as the liquor board case, have yielded no results, prompting criticism from those who complain that he wastes years and millions of taxpayer dollars on baseless investigations. Tuesday's raid has brought pressure like never before, including accusations that the Republican appointee is targeting Democrats.
"It'd better be more than ... something [they could have received ] had they asked the lawyer," said Gerald P. Martin, a lawyer for Doracon Contracting - a company that was raided last year as part of the probe. "It takes a lot of nerve to go out" and raid a private home.
Rohrbaugh and his staff don't answer questions about their investigations - they won't even confirm whether one is under way. But based on the guilty pleas, searches and subpoenas over the past two years, the office appears to be investigating City Hall contracting practices from Dixon's time as City Council president.
The Sun reported in 2006 that Dixon voted on contracts that benefited her sister's employer, Utech. The paper also revealed that the City Council had paid Dixon's longtime friend and campaign chairman, Dale G. Clark, for computer work without a contract. He was paid $500,000 over five years.
Clark and Mildred Boyer, the founder of Utech, have pleaded guilty to tax charges as a result of the investigation and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
