Legislators And Lobbyists

The lunch crowd at Fran O'Brien's Steak and Seafood House had to abandon their meals when a four-alarm fire broke out on March 8, 1984. About 200 persons gathered outside to watch the firefighters tamp down the blaze, which took two hours to bring under control. "I saw a bartender jump over the bar with a fire extinguisher and thought 'We ought to get our coats and leave,'" said one patron. The Annapolis restaurant, popular among state legislators and lobbyists, suffered extensive damage to its 108-year-old structure.

A task force on lobbying reforms meets today to help decide if Maryland should adopt groundbreaking legislation to prohibit state lawmakers from entering business relationships with lobbyists. The task force is reviewing legislation that House of Delegates Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller proposed in the wake of last month's indictments of a state legislator and a leading Annapolis lobbyist on mail and wire fraud charges. A federal grand jury accused Del. Tony E. Fulton, a West Baltimore Democrat, and lobbyist Gerard E. Evans of defrauding paint and asbestos manufacturers who were the lobbyist's clients.

Members of the Maryland General Assembly apparently have voracious appetites. Just to keep these 188 individuals well fed, lobbyist Bruce Bereano shelled out over $500 a day during the six months that included the 1990 legislative session. That's a lot of filet mignons and Maine lobsters -- not to mention bourbons with water. It's a lot of influence-peddling, too.Mr. Bereano's lavish spending on legislators -- $129,000 for meals and $33,000 for gifts and entertainment -- illustrates how easy it is for lobbyists to ply lawmakers in Annapolis with unlimited meals, drinks and entertainment without having to account in detail for this spending.

James Edward Chambers, who became a discreet confidant of Maryland legislators and lobbyists while operating a shoeshine stand in the State House for more than half a century, died yesterday of congestive heart failure at the Genesis Spa Creek Center in Annapolis. He was 86. "To know the State House, you had to know Jimmy," said former Gov. Marvin Mandel. "He was really a fixture. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. When I first came into the legislature, he was there and he's been shining my shoes ever since.

BEGINNING today, Marylanders will get a glimpse of the seamy side of how a bill becomes -- or doesn't become -- a law in Annapolis. Federal prosecutors will attempt to prove that Baltimore Del. Tony E. Fulton and influential lobbyist Gerard E. Evans conspired to manipulate proposed legislation so that the lobbyist generated $400,000 in fees from his clients. Mr. Fulton's alleged reward: a $10,000 real estate commission on an Annapolis office building bought by the lobbyist. Regardless of the outcome, citizens could be shocked by revelations about how business sometimes is conducted during General Assembly sessions.

Scores of Jack Cade's closest friends paid a tidy bundle last night to fete the state senator in Baltimore.The $500-a-ticket reception at the Harbor View Marina and Yacht Club drew more than 250 guests by 7:30 p.m. and raised at least $125,000 for Mr. Cade's campaign war chest, an organizer said.All of which raises the question: What office is the man running for?Sen. John A. Cade, the curmudgeonly Republican from Anne Arundel County, isn't saying.Last night's event, the biggest fund-raiser of his 20-year career in the state Senate, was about giving him options for 1998, Mr. Cade said.

Roscoe G. Bartlett didn't expect to have to continue campaigning after he won the 6th District Congressional seat Nov. 3.But that's what a freshman legislator has to do if he wants a seat on an influential congressional committee, the Frederick Republican said last night."

HOW MANY times do leaders of Maryland's General Assembly have to be hit by scandals before they reform their ways? A second high-profile lobbyist is on his way to federal prison and the shady dealings of a third lobbyist may yet draw the attention of federal investigators. A Baltimore delegate just narrowly avoided conviction, too. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz summed up the sorry situation while sentencing high-paid lobbyist Gerard E. Evans to 2 1/2 years in prison for defrauding his clients.

In the center of a House of Delegates committee room, beneath the Colonial-style candelabra, stood a prop yesterday that drew a fascinated crowd of spectators:A purple Harley-Davidson."

Fran O'Brien's Steak and Seafood House, one of Annapolis' most popular watering holes among the State House crowd, moved a step closer to changing hands yesterday as the city's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board unanimously approved the transfer of its liquor license to new owners.Jerry Hardesty, owner of the Middleton Tavern at City Dock, is buying Fran O'Brien's from its founder, Sike Sharigan. Mr. Hardesty, who has owned the Middleton since 1968, will serve as a consultant to the business.