Insider Says Bruno Charges Mirror FBI's Currie Corruption Case

FBI: Currie used influence for chain's benefit
The Associated Press - July 23, 2008

BALTIMORE (AP) - Influential state Sen. Ulysses Currie used his office to benefit a company he was working for, according to an affidavit written by an FBI special agent who specializes in federal public corruption cases. Currie worked as a consultant for Shoppers Food Warehouse but did not disclose income from the company on ethics forms. His dealings with the grocery chain are being investigated by the FBI. Currie, 70, declined to comment to The Associated Press on Tuesday evening. An affidavit for a search warrant unsealed Tuesday at the request of several news organizations says Currie, who chairs the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, also had 320 phone contacts with employees of Shoppers and its parent company over the last five years. The affidavit shows that in 2005 and 2006 while the transfer of a liquor license from one store to another was being considered, phone records showed "frequent contact" between Currie's numbers and those of Shoppers representatives, Prince George's County's chief liquor inspector and a county liquor board attorney. It also shows contacts before the opening of a Shoppers store at Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore and states mall owners needed state land for a renovation key to Shoppers' decision to open a store there.

FBI special agent Steven Quisenberry, who specializes in federal public corruption cases, writes in the affidavit that the Prince George's County Democrat voted on bills that affected Shoppers during the time he received payments from the company and he believes Currie used his influence to benefit Shoppers. "During the time period that Currie received payments from SFW and SuperValu, Currie voted on a number of bills that impacted, or would have impacted, the grocery industry and therefore, SFW and its parent company SuperValu," Quisenberry wrote. "Based on the facts set forth in this affidavit, it is my belief that Currie used his official position and influence in connection with such legislation and in certain business transactions involving the State of Maryland, in ways that benefited or would have benefited SFW and SuperValu."

Information about how much Shoppers paid Currie was temporarily redacted from the affidavit at the request of Currie's attorney, Dale Kelberman. In hearings Monday, Kelberman argued that Currie has not been charged and his right to privacy outweighs the public's right to access. Kelberman has until Monday to file an appeal, effectively extending the redaction until the case reaches the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va. Currie's ties to Shoppers, where he worked as an outside consultant, are under federal investigation. His District Heights home and the chain's Lanham headquarters were searched by the FBI on May 29 as part of the investigation. The affidavit indicates Currie is being investigated in connection with mail and wire fraud schemes "regarding money and property and the deprivation of the intangible right to honest services."