Arundel principal accused of stealing campaign funds
A Glen Burnie school principal stole about $13,000 in campaign funds from a dead Baltimore County delegate, according to state prosecutors. In a release Tuesday, the Office of the State Prosecutor said that Ronald Chesek, 59, of Severna Park has been charged with stealing between $10,000 and $100,000 from the campaign fund of former Del. Joseph J. Minnick, who died in October 2015. Chesek is the principal at Marley Glen Special School, where he made about $129,000 in annual salary as of 2016, according to county records. He’s been with the school system since 1986 and the principal of the school since 2009, according to Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman Bob Mosier. Prosecutors said that Chesek, who had been Minnick’s treasurer since 1993, “used campaign funds for his own personal use and benefit” between July 9, 2013, and Sept. 17, 2017. Minnick — a retired restaurant owner who served in the Maryland House of Delegates for more than two decades dating back to 1988 — was 82 when he died of a blood disease in October 2015. Chesek will be reassigned to another position within the school system where he will have no access to children or public funds, Mosier said. He said school officials learned of the charges Tuesday morning and are still investigating. Chesek faces up to 15 years in prison and $15,000 in fines if he is found guilty, prosecutors wrote. Mosier said Chesek was out of the office Tuesday on previously scheduled leave. Attempts to reach Chesek were unsuccessful. No attorney is listed as representing him in court records.
New pact would give 5,000 state workers a 3% raise
Nearly 5,000 professional employees working across state government agencies are set to receive a 3 percent pay raise next year under a new contract announced Tuesday by the Hogan administration. Members of the Maryland Professional Employees Council still have to ratify the deal with secret ballots at their Dec. 8 meeting, as Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration faces tough negotiations with AFSCME, state government’s largest union. MPEC’s top negotiator said she was “satisfied” with the agreement. “This is the second consecutive year of being able to work with the governor’s team to get much-needed pay raises for the professional employees of the state,” said Jacquelyn Raines, MPEC’s interim executive director and chief negotiator. But, Raines added, the employees are still “substantially behind in pay raises” after nearly eight years without increases following the 2007-08 recession. Negotiations for the deal began in October. In addition to the 3 percent cost-of-living increase that kicks in July 1, the state agreed to provide an additional 1 percent bump starting Jan. 1, 2020, if state revenues exceed projections by $75 million. Further, the state is providing a student loan repayment program that will pay for up to $20,000 in student loans for employees in technology, engineering and forensic science positions. If the 1 percent portion kicks in, the deal’s total cost to the state would be $13.1 million, a state budget official said.
Balto. Co. officer gets treatment for fentanyl
A Baltimore County police officer was treated with Narcan on Tuesday following a possible exposure to the synthetic opioid fentanyl. An EMS worker found what appeared to be a vial of fentanyl inside a medical vehicle while on the scene of a crash on Hanover Pike and Bortner Road around 10:37 a.m. Tuesday, according to police. The officer confiscated the vial and placed a driver, who had just received treatment inside the medical vehicle, under arrest for the suspected narcotics violation. About an hour later, the officer began to feel nauseous while transporting the driver and the confiscated vial to the Franklin Precinct. She pulled into a parking lot on Hanover Pike and Glen Falls Road, where additional police and medics responded. The officer, whom police have not identified, was taken to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment. She is reportedly in good condition, police said Tuesday afternoon. Charges are pending against the driver, whose name police have not yet released.
Laurel woman acquitted in estranged husband’s killing
An Anne Arundel County jury acquitted a Laurel woman Tuesday of all charges stemming from the March 2017 killing of her estranged husband, former FBI investigator Scott Horn. Anne Reed Allen was arrested June 30, 2017, and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and use of a handgun in a crime of violence. She was scheduled to be released from prison late Tuesday, said her attorney, Andrew Jezic. A spokesperson for the ounty state’s attorney’s office declined to comment further on the case, which she said is still open.
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