Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh sentenced to 3 years for book fraud scheme
BALTIMORE _ Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who held elected offices in Baltimore for two decades, was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday for a fraud scheme involving a children's book series.
U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow described Pugh's crimes as "astounding" and said she took advantage of a career spent doing good works to mislead organizations who purchased her "Healthy Holly" books.
"I have yet, frankly, to hear any explanation that makes sense," the judge said. "This was not a tiny mistake, lapse of judgment. This became a very large fraud. The nature and circumstances of this offense clearly, I think, are extremely, extremely serious."
Pugh, 69, tearfully asked Chasanow for mercy and apologized in court "to anyone I have offended or hurt through my actions." She said she had "turned a blind eye" and "sanctioned things I should not have," but did not intend to cause harm.
Pugh's political fall began in March when The Baltimore Sun revealed she had entered into a no-bid deal with the University of Maryland Medical System, where Pugh sat on the board of directors, to buy 100,000 copies of her sloppily self-published "Healthy Holly" books for $500,000. She later resigned from the board and as mayor amid multiple investigations into her finances and the book sales. In total, she netted more than $850,000, prosecutors say.
_ The Baltimore Sun
