Campaign Reports

State prosecutors abruptly dropped theft, embezzlement and perjury charges against a former campaign worker for City Councilwoman Paula Johnson Branch yesterday because, they said, Branch's testimony conflicted with earlier statements she made to a grand jury. Branch was the key witness in the case in city Circuit Court. The defendant, Momoh Abu Conteh, 49, was charged after the state prosecutor's office reviewed Branch's campaign records and discovered $2,000 missing. Branch told prosecutors that Conteh stole the money, but Conteh said the councilwoman told him to give it to the campaign of state Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden.

No single candidate has emerged as a fundraising front-runner to weed out the large field running for Maryland's only open congressional seat, suggesting that the crowded race will remain competitive, campaign finance reports filed yesterday show. Seven Democratic candidates are running to replace Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin in the sprawling 3rd Congressional District -- which includes portions of the city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties -- and at least four of them have equally hefty campaign funds, according to the reports.

With Election Day more than a year and a half away, Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr.'s campaign has about $1 million in the bank -- about as much as he spent running for his first term, according to a figures supplied by his campaign yesterday. Smith raised more in the past year than the two Democrats likely to run for governor next year, the campaign reports showed. Smith, who has said he will seek a second term as county executive next year, may be building his treasury early, in part, to scare off would-be opponents, political experts say. "One of the reasons to raise money early is to lock in contributors so they won't contribute to others.

The state prosecutor's office is investigating overdue campaign finance reports from two Baltimore County councilmen, both of whom say they are working to correct the problem. Councilman Kenneth N. Oliver, a Randallstown Democrat, said his campaign manager recently received a letter from the prosecutor alerting him to a missing campaign finance report and outstanding fines from late 2002 and early last year. Councilman John A. Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, said he received a letter from the prosecutor about a missing report and outstanding fine from late 2002.

Running for office time and again brought Doris Minor-Terrell nothing but defeat at the polls. That is until recently, when the perennial candidate for House of Delegates found out there can be worse fallout from political life than a thumbs-down from voters. Minor-Terrell was arrested this month on misdemeanor charges of failing to file campaign finance reports and related late fees. So was her campaign treasurer, Ornat Erby. "I was locked up," Erby said, adding that he spent 19 hours in custody before being freed on his own recognizance, as Minor-Terrell was Sept.

Money may make the political world go 'round but not in Howard County, based on annual campaign finance reports filed last week. While Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. reported raising $2.5 million and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley took in almost $1.9 million, Howard politicians typically raised less than $30,000 each, sometimes far less. "I haven't had a fund-raiser for five years. I have a long history of that," said Republican state Sen. Robert H. Kittleman. Kittleman's report was filled with zeros, except for $5,682 remaining from earlier contributions.

Richard Irish, former campaign treasurer and confidant of Baltimore County Councilman John Olszewski Sr., avoided a lengthy prison sentence yesterday by pleading guilty to stealing more than $62,000 in campaign funds and falsifying campaign reports. Under a plea agreement approved by Baltimore County Circuit Judge Patrick Cavanaugh, a 10-year sentence and $25,000 in fines were suspended after Irish agreed to pay back the money he stole and to attend meetings at Gamblers Anonymous. Irish was placed on five years' probation.

Richard Irish, the former campaign treasurer to Baltimore County Councilman John A. Olszewski Sr., has agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than $60,000 in campaign funds and falsifying campaign reports, his attorney said yesterday. Maryland state prosecutors filed charges against Irish on Monday on two counts, one for theft and one for false campaign reports. Patrick M. Smith, a Glen Burnie attorney representing Irish, said his client has agreed to plead guilty to those charges in exchange for the prosecutor recommending a suspended sentence.

THE NASTINESS that marked last year's state Senate race between incumbent Frederick Republican Alex X. Mooney and former Democratic Del. Sue Hecht has extended well past Election Day. For the past year, Hecht campaign staffers have waged a struggle with the Maryland State Board of Elections to compel Mooney - the victor in a race marked by a campaign office burglary and Web-address squatting - to correct error-riddled campaign finance reports. They say that the state elections board has dragged its feet in its responsibilities, and that Mooney has attempted to intimidate Hecht's campaign treasurer into abandoning her questioning.

Baltimore Believe has inspired thousands to seek drug treatment, but more than two-thirds are still awaiting help, according to a report to be released today on the first five months of the anti-drug campaign. That mix of good news and bad can be found throughout the 39-page progress report -- an indication, Believe officials say, that the $2.1 million campaign has made a dent in the city's drug problem but still has a long way to go. "I think it's good information. I don't think it's anything to declare victory over," said Walter D. "Wally" Pinkard, co-chairman of the campaign.