Finally, somebody in Baltimore starts snitching. Ron Lipscomb seems to have flipped on girlfriend and bread man alike.
In a plea bargain this week, Lipscomb admitted to violating campaign finance laws and agreed to help state prosecutors in their corruption case against Mayor Sheila Dixon, an old flame who showered the developer with favors (municipal and otherwise).
Lipscomb turned on someone else he's been in bed with: John Paterakis, the baking-and-development magnate who made his fortune baking McDonald's buns.
In his plea agreement, Lipscomb claimed he and Paterakis split the cost of a $12,500 poll for City Councilwoman Helen Holton, who helped their Harbor East development win city tax breaks. Attached to the agreement was a copy of a $6,000 check from Paterakis' J&B Associates to Lipscomb's Doracon, which initially picked up the whole tab for the poll. (State law caps campaign contributions at $4,000 per candidate.)
There are any number of legitimate reasons why Paterakis, whose lawyer has not returned calls seeking comment, would cut his business partner a check.
And it's easy to dismiss a snitch. Lipscomb tells himself, "You deserve a break today" and coughs up a statement for prosecutors. He sprinkles the bread man's name in there like so many sesame seeds on a Big Mac bun, and suddenly somebody else's keister is in the fryer.
It's worth remembering, however, that while Lipscomb can avoid incarceration by helping prosecutors, he could do time if he provides phony information.
When Paterakis' name surfaced the other day, someone remarked to me how it always smells so good down by his Harbor East bakery - even though what's actually baking are white-flour buns destined for the nutritional abomination that are McDonald's burgers.
If we really should smell a rat, let's hope the state prosecutor can sniff it out.
Feds fund bay movie?
Barry Levinson might make his next movie with an unlikely partner: government.
The filmmaker has been talking with state and federal officials about financing a documentary about the ailing Chesapeake Bay. He confirmed that he'd met with some state officials in Annapolis a few weeks ago to discuss funding the project, though he wasn't naming names.
Government agencies might have an interest in bankrolling such a movie as a way to spread the word that the bay is threatened and needs saving, Levinson said. Even as he pursues public financing, Levinson said it's unlikely he'll ultimately go that route - and not just because government funds are scarcer than PCB-free rockfish.
