By Kenneth C. Rossignol

ST. MARY’S TODAY

LEONARDTOWN — The appearance of unethical and illegal conduct may be matched by the reality of such actions on the part of at least two and possibly three of the current St. Mary’s County Commissioners, and may implicate a former commissioner in trading official actions of county government in return for campaign donations.

A pattern of campaign donations made to the commissioners while they consider revisions of zoning classifications, allocations of sewer hookups, revisions of development districts and other official actions make the case for voters to learn more about how they decide to cast their votes, at the very least, and perhaps jail time for some elected officials and developers who may have violated election laws.

The revelation in last week’s edition of ST. MARY’S TODAY that a donation to the election campaign of St. Mary’s Commissioner President Jackie Russell (D. St. George Island), made by a dead man, if proven, could result in conviction on charges of violating Maryland’s election laws.

In addition, a $2,000 contribution was made by a Hermanville woman, Geri Arnold, who was working as a secretary for a local builder and developer, to the campaign of then-Commissioner Thomas McKay on Nov. 8, 2005. The contribution may be in violation of campaign laws if the secretary funneled money from her employer, Jeff Kozero, to McKay’s "Tommy McKay for Southern Maryland" committee.

According to State election campaign finance records, Arnold has never made another election contribution to any other candidate than McKay.

More than $8,000 was given to the campaign of McKay during 2004 and 2005 by the developers of St. George Peninsula, a development in Valley Lee seeking sewer approval by St. Mary’s County.

The developers, Jeffrey Kozero and Marc Cohen, passed out a largess of cash to McKay and Commissioners Tom Mattingly and even tossed a money bone to Commissioner Kenny Dement.

A firm owned by Kozero, Empire Homes, employed Dement’s son for about four months at the time that the action was pending to give sewer approval to St. George Peninsula, according to one of Kozero’s former associates.

In addition to the hiring of Dement’s son for a job that a source said the son was ill-suited for, due to not performing work properly, at least one campaign donation was made, after the official vote to approve the action sought by the developers to Commissioner Dement by Cohen. Dement reported only receiving a $60 contribution from Cohen on Nov. 11, 2008. Dement had previously told ST. MARY’S TODAY that he had never taken campaign contributions from the developers Cohen and Kozero.

Commissioner Kenny Dement failed to list by name the sales of thousands of dollars of individual ticket purchases to his breakfast fundraisers, thereby concealing the source of significant contributions.

The St. Mary’s Planning Commission, on July 9, 2007 in a sharply divided 4-3 vote, approved the new sewer plan which allowed hookups to St. George Peninsula.

An astonished former County Commissioner Shelby Guazzo, as a member of the Planning Commission was one of three votes against the measure.

Guazzo is recorded in the minutes with these remarks: "Ms. Guazzo stated this project in the RPD and in an area where things already don’t perc and have to be hooked up to the central sewer. Ms. Guazzo stated this is probably an excellent example of chance to save the Rural Preservation District. Ms. Guazzo stated a lot of the County is spotted with these small quasi private/public systems that METCO is becoming responsible for once they approve them and come on-line. Ms. Guazzo stated this is an area where the water table is very high. Ms. Guazzo stated she will not be able to vote for the concept water and sewer for this project. Ms. Guazzo stated again this is an example of a chance to save some of the Rural Preservation Area."

Dement voted on Jan. 29, 2008, as part of a new comprehensive sewer and water plant, to approve sewer connections to the property owned by Kozero and Cohen.

McKay was out of office at that time, having run an unsuccessful campaign for state senator in 2006. Commissioner Tommy Mattingly, Commissioner Dan Raley and Commissioner Jack Russell voted with Dement, while Commissioner Larry Jarboe voted no.

Jarboe read a statement in the record explaining his no vote.

Mattingly received campaign contributions from Larry Day in 2005. Day worked for the firm Kozero-owned Day Tech, after Larry Day Associates had been bought by Jeff Kozero’s firm Tech Group.

Russell, who had voted for the favorable sewer approval for St. George Peninsula, received a $50 contribution from Marc Cohen on July 31, 2006, while a meager amount compared to what the developers had invested in McKay, was made prior to Russell becoming a county commissioner, but worked pretty good for them, nonetheless.

It is not known by filings of Russell’s skipjack foundation if the developers had contributed to that effort which benefits Russell.

Had McKay won the state senate seat, he would have been in a good position to further the interests of the St. George Peninsula developers who had contributed so much money to his campaign.

As Commissioner President from 2002 through December of 2006, McKay directed the actions of county government in every way, serving virtually full time in his position, in particular working closely with the staff of the Land Use and Growth Management.

The county administrator at the time, George Forrest, had been financially connected with McKay prior to be hired as county administrator, serving on McKay’s grocery chain board of directors.

Approvals of various state agencies were also critical for this property, which is now in foreclosure proceedings, and Kozero, who is listed in county documents as being a Development Partner and Cohen as the attorney, funneled thousands of dollars from themselves to the campaigns of both former Governor Bob Ehrlich and Governor Martin O’Malley.

Cohen donated $2,500 to Ehrlich’s campaign between 2002 and 2005. Empire Homes gave the Friends of Martin O’Malley $4,000 on June 20, 2005.

Empire Homes was also pretty generous with Calvert County Commissioners, distributing the following sums to four of the County Commissioners:

Empire Homes LLC $2000 Shaw, Susan Friends Of 03/08/2006

Empire Homes LLC $2000 Clark, Jerry Friends Of 02/23/2006

Empire Homes LLC $4000 Hale, David Citizens To Elect 10/05/2005

Empire Homes, LLC $2000 Parran, Wilson H. Friends Of 05/27/2006

Edward St. John, the owner of a development company building a subdivision in Hollywood, paid a $100,000 fine as a civil penalty after being investigated by the Maryland State Prosecutor for reimbursing his employees for donations that they made in their names to various candidates for Maryland and federal offices, including to the campaign of former Lt. Gov. Mike Steele in his bid for the U. S. Senate in 2006.

It is also a violation of law to knowingly accept a campaign contribution from someone who is hiding the real donor.