Federal prosecutors laid out an array of new details from their investigation into former Baltimore mayor Catherine E. Pugh in documents filed Thursday as they argued she should receive nearly five years in prison for conspiracy and tax evasion.
The 37-page sentencing memorandum, accompanied by financial records and copies of checks, for the first time pinpointed the number of “Healthy Holly” children’s books Pugh sold — and resold. It outlined her efforts to conceal her dealings, including lying to FBI agents who came to her house to seize her cellphone.
It also raised further questions regarding the roles of Baltimore City Comptroller Joan Pratt, who co-owned a business with Pugh that prosecutors say was used to launder an illegal campaign contribution and which filed a false tax return, and of a major city contractor who wrote out a check to that business in addition to buying Pugh’s books.
“The chronology of events since 2011 . . . clearly establishes the deliberateness with which [Pugh] pursued financial and political gain without a second thought about how it was harming the public’s trust,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorneys Martin J. Clarke and Leo J. Wise.