Clients

A former Towson investment counselor, who stole $843,000 from nine clients, has pleaded guilty in Baltimore County Circuit Court to one count each of theft, failure to file a tax return and securities fraud.Michael E. Hart, 34, who many of his former mostly retired clients said they thought of as a son, entered the guilty plea in exchange for the state dropping other charges against him.Judge J. Norris Byrnes immediately revoked Hart's $500,000 bail -- a bail he was never able to post -- and ordered a presentence report.

HESTER Richardson of Linthicum and Pauline Bottiger of Ferndale, volunteers for Meals on Wheels and route chairwomen, have had to cope with budget and blizzard troubles recently.Some clients who receive two meals a day Monday through Friday were concerned about the effect on Meals on Wheels of the government shutdown."To alleviate their concerns, letters were sent to each client to tell them that there was food," Mrs. Bottiger said. "Every client had their meals delivered."The blizzard was another story.

If your mailbox is filling up faster than usual, thank your financial planner. Ever since the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings in September that set off a panic, planners have been sending three to five times the usual number of newsletters and e-mail blasts to clients. "We have been sending out a lot of articles trying to reassure people that they need to hang in there as long as they can," says Annette Simon, a Bethesda financial planner. "The instinct for a lot of people ... was to get out and maybe stop contributing to their 401(k)

Lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano ended his five-month stint in a federal halfway house in East Baltimore yesterday, upbeat about his personal growth during confinement and looking forward to a full return from his legal purgatory.Standing in the parking lot of the Volunteers of America halfway house -- a former low-rate motel on East Monument Street -- Bereano waved goodbye to a half-dozen detainees who were watching him load his champagne-colored Mercedes-Benz with clothes, lamps and a television.

Even before the 1999 General Assembly begins Wednesday, Bruce C. Bereano can claim victory in one of the toughest lobbying cases of his colorful career: persuading 30 or so clients to stick with him while he serves a 10-month court sentence for mail fraud.The first Maryland lobbyist to earn more than $1 million in a legislative session, Bereano will apparently become the first in Maryland to represent major corporate clients while in a work-release program for convicted criminals."Several of them said they want me or nobody," Bereano said.

A new report by advocates for welfare recipients says city social workers have fallen down on the job of helping many of their clients get ready for the work force -- at a time when state officials are considering reducing the number of Baltimore caseworkers nearly 25 percent.The report, by the Family Investment Program Legal Clinic, which provides free legal help to thousands of welfare recipients, urges legislators to lift the limit of five years' cash assistance for welfare clients who might not have gotten the help they need in Baltimore since welfare reform began four years ago.The report says some Baltimore workers, who handle an average 175 files each at any one time, don't know how to help recipients with criminal records get charges expunged so they'll be more employable.

Friends of Harford County lawyer Thomas J. McLaughlin describe him as a community activist who shares his time and expertise freely with those in need. But court records portray a man who mishandled thousands of dollars from his clients -- and his own mother. The incongruous portrait of the Aberdeen attorney, who faces disbarment over complaints that he collected more than $200,000 in fees for work never performed, emerged yesterday as friends spoke of his unselfish community work and court files revealed bankruptcy and other legal problems.

Ever notice that the people who seem the most highly motivated personally and professionally often are the ones who also have enough energy left over after a long day at the office to work out regularly? We did. And we wondered what gave them that extra boost.Turns out, it's not what, but who.You've got it. In offices, home gyms and fitness centers, many of Baltimore's movers and shakers are paying for an infusion of enthusiasm: They are hiring personal fitness trainers.A fitness trainer's primary function is, of course, to develop a safe, effective workout for his client.

LOS ANGELES - With a shaved pate, trim build and clear blue eyes, John Biroc has a mien that is both cerebral and serene, like a mathematician moonlighting as a yoga instructor. But the 63-year-old therapist's actual job is quirkier. Biroc is a motivational coach for the mosh pit scene and a hand-holder for rap rockers. Biroc's client niche is a loud and unusual one: He works only with young rock musicians, most often tattooed, pierced and angst-ridden modern rock bands but with an occasional mellow songwriter tossed in. On a busy day, that makes his office in Los Angeles' neighborhood of Encino resemble the backstage scene at the Roxy.

Kimberly Majerowicz is an artist, by temperament and by talent, but her canvases are the walls and ceilings of the rooms she is asked by her clients to fill with furniture and fabric. The interior designer and owner of K'Bella Studios will arrive with the requisite swatches, color chips, furnishing suggestions and window treatments, but then she will pull some magic out of her bag. She can turn ceilings into leather or giraffe hide. Backsplashes into tile mosaics. Cabinet doors into bronze.