Maryland Attorney General

The owner of an Essex gym has been charged with collecting prohibited fees and misleading customers about their cancellation rights, according to the Maryland Attorney General's office. The AG's consumer protection division filed administrative charges against GRS Fitness LLC and its owner, Bernard P. Caplan, Jr. after the gym stopped offering services and charged improperly for services. According to the division, GRS Fitness entered into an agreement with Health Trek Creations LLC to take over a gym on Kelso Drive.

In his two decades with the Maryland attorney general's office, Gary E. Bair has played a key role in the legal maneuverings that sent Maryland prisoners from death row to the execution chamber. He even stood before the nation's highest court to oppose an argument meant to save a convicted killer's life. But Bair is stepping down as solicitor general this month to become partners with Fred Warren Bennett, a well-known capital defense attorney who represented two of the last three Maryland inmates put to death.

Curran's call to ban handguns won't make Marylanders saferIt's nice to see Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran speak the truth for once: that his goal is to eliminate handguns ("Curran calls for ban on handguns," Oct. 20).It's also nice to see a man, with armed guards protecting him, say it's time for the rest of us to give up our handguns.Would Mr. Curran like to pay for armed guards to protect my family?It is my God-given right to defend my family and myself from harm. I will be damned if I will sit by and let Mr. Curran take that away from me.Law-abiding gun owners have stood by long enough while politicians spout feel-good legislation that hurts law-abiding citizens and helps criminals.

From: Kauko H. KokkonenTowsonWhen Anne Arundel Community College's scholarship director Barry Weinberg was asked by reporter Jay Apperson (Anne Arundel County Sun,March 14, 1991) whether the school's displaced-homemaker scholarshipwas gender-specific, Weinberg reportedly replied that it was not. However, when the headline, "College aid for women," appeared in the Evening Sun Dec. 26, 1990, it stated, "A displaced homemaker was identified as a woman . . ." and gave an Annapolis address to obtain more information.

The Q: Auto repair complaints were No. 2 behind landlord and property management problems on the Maryland attorney general's top five consumer complaints list last year. When your car won't start, leaks or is making funny noises, it can cause consumers to panic and forget what their rights are under Maryland law. Reader Rodney Kerr was in a miserable situation recently when he sent a frantic e-mail to us. "Hello, I'm in an auto repair shop, and I'm very, very concerned," Kerr said. "The owner started a lot of repairs on his own without any authorization at all. The vehicle is there because it wouldn't start.

Levitz Furniture Corp., the nation's largest specialty furniture retailer, has agreed to pay $1.12 million to Maryland and seven other states to settle claims that the company deceived consumers with false discounts, the state attorney general announced yesterday.Under the agreement, Levitz did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to pay penalties to Arizona, California, Connecticut, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. Maryland, home to Levitz stores in Catonsville, Fullerton, Glen Burnie, Rockville and Suitland, will receive $102,500 in fines from the retailer.

The Maryland attorney general's office and the Humane Society of the United States are to announce today an increase in rewards for people who provide law enforcement authorities with information on illegal dogfighting events in Maryland and across the country. Coming on the first anniversary of NFL quarterback Michael Vick's federal indictment on dogfighting charges, the move will double the money offered for information leading to arrests and convictions, from $2,500 to $5,000. "We're making a concerted effort to eliminate dogfighting," said John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States.

The prize letter said Pat Paddack and his wife, Diane, had won a Lincoln Town Car. They had only to travel to a Pennsylvania campground to claim it.At first, they couldn't believe it, said Mr. Paddack, a former mayor of Hagerstown. "We read this thing 50 times before we called," he recalled.However, when they arrived at the campground, there was no car -- only a high-pressure sales pitch and a set of steak knives.The Paddacks were among 100,000 Maryland families lured to the Outdoor World Corp.

Towson-based Baci Management Inc., which left the Lyric Opera House and other theaters in the lurch recently after its subscription-series touring shows were abruptly canceled, has filed for bankruptcy. All but three of the eight Broadway-style productions that Baci had booked for Baltimore's Lyric between last September and this May were called off, hurting the theater and aggravating customers. The Maryland attorney general's office said it is trying to mediate 77 complaints about Baci.

A former Maryland businessman pleaded guilty yesterday in a stock fraud scheme that bilked more than 100 people -- including best-selling spy novelist Tom Clancy -- out of more than $8 million, money which authorities say was squandered on bad investments and gambling junkets. Richard Scott, 54, of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty in Prince George's County Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro to three counts of conspiracy to misappropriate funds and two counts of securities fraud. Clancy was the largest investor in Scott's stock business and lost $1.6 million.