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Corruption and Scandal Abounds in Prince George's County, Maryland

Fiona Moodie

Bowie City Councilwoman, Courtney Glass, has been charged with Driving Under the Influence, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident, after she allegedly hit a motorcyclist while travelling eastbound in a westbound lane of Annapolis Road in Bowie, Maryland. (See charges here)

The allegations against Councilwoman Glass follow several months of unearthed corruption and scandals in Prince George's County, Maryland.

In January, the FBI charged four people, including David Dae Sok Son - the liquor agency’s administrator, and Prince George’s County Liquor Board commissioner, Anuj Sud, with federal bribery charges following a long-run corruption probe of the Prince George’s County Liquor Board.

Former Maryland State Delegate, Michael Vaughn, was later indicted on federal bribery and wire-fraud charges related to the aforementioned case. If convicted, he could face up to 105 years in federal prison.

An ongoing FBI pay-to-play investigation resulted in Former Maryland State Delegate, Will Campos, pleading guilty to federal bribery charges. Mr. Campos accepted approximately $50,000 in personal bribes and gave away more than $325,000 of taxpayer money, set aside for charities and non-profits, in exchange for personal payments and favours.

In November of 2016, Prince George’s County Councilman Mel Franklin (ironically Chairman of the Public Safety Committee), was charged with Driving Under the Influence, in an accident that resulted in two injuries. While driving a county-issued vehicle, Councilman Franklin crashed into the back of a car; both the passenger and the driver of the car sustained injuries and were hospitalized. Mr. Franklin had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10, above the legal limit of 0.08. (See charges here)

This is not Councilman Franklin’s first accident in a county-issued vehicle; in 2012 he crashed his county issued SUV twice, the latter accident resulting in a total loss with over $33,000 in damage – all taxpayer funded.

Yet, despite pleading guilty to his DUI charges – an incident where his victims were hospitalized and left with residual injuries - Councilman Franklin received nothing more than a slap-on-the-wrist: a $645 fine

Former Prince George’s County liquor board chairman, Charles Caldwell, received a similar sentence after pleading guilty to his December 2016 DUI charges. Mr. Caldwell reportedly asked officers if there was any way they could “make this go away” after crashing his vehicle and failing his field sobriety test with flying colors, following a night out at the pride of Prince George’s County: MGM National Harbor Casinos.

In the case of Ms Glass, if found guilty she has no business continuing her public service in her capacity as a Bowie City Councilwoman. Nor should Ms. Glass continue holding her public-sector job as an attorney/legislative analyst in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs of the Office of the Prince George's County Executive, Rushern Baker; receiving two salaries sourced from her constituents’ hard-earned money.

The statistics relating to drunk driving are grim: an average drunk driver has driven drunk over 80 times prior to their first arrest and 50-75% of those convicted continue to drive on their suspended licenses. (1, 2)

Every day in America, another 27 people die as a result of drunk driving crashes, in 2015 that resulted in 10,265 casualties: mothers, fathers, daughters, sons... 10,265 people. (3, 4)

To not only, allegedly, get behind the wheel while intoxicated, but also, hit a motorcyclist and leave that individual on the side of the road (in an unknown condition, at that!) shows that Ms. Glass lacks compassion, respect for human life, and the ability to conduct herself in a moral and ethical manner.

Councilwoman Courtney Glass has proven that her decision making abilities are fatally flawed; if she is guilty as charged, she should resign, effective immediately, from her position on Bowie City Council and from her position in the Office of the Prince George’s County Executive.

 

  1. *(Peck, R.C., Wilson, R. J., and Sutton, L. 1995. “Driver license strategies for controlling the persistent DUI offender, Strategies for Dealing with the intent Drinking Driver.” Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Circular No. 437. Washington, D.C. National Research Council: 48-49 and Beck, KH, et al. “Effects of Ignition Interlock License Restrictions on Drivers with Multiple Alcohol Offenses: A Randomized Trial in Maryland.” American Journal of Public Health, 89 vol. 11 (1999): 1696-1700.)
  2. Arrest data: Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Crime in the United States: 2014” https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-29 Incidence data: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Alcohol-Impaired Driving Among Adults — United States, 2012." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. August 7, 2015 / 64(30);814-817. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6430a2.htm
  3. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Traffic Safety Facts 2014: Alcohol-Impaired Driving.” Washington DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812231.pdf
  4. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Traffic Safety Facts 2015: Alcohol-Impaired Driving.” Washington DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812231.pdf

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