ANNAPOLIS - Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said a former state employee tried to "blackmail" him by releasing e-mails that show a longtime Ehrlich aide was allegedly involved in arranging politically motivated firings.
The blackmail charge adds to the latest ongoing saga that has persisted since Ehrlich fired aide Joseph Steffen for spreading rumors on a conservative Web site saying that Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley was having an affair.
[...]
Gil Genn, a lobbyist and former Montgomery County delegate, wrote a letter to Ehrlich July 13, 2004, after Lane was fired informing the governor that Lane allegedly was fired because she "knew too much about the systemic problems [within foster care] and tried to correct them..."
Genn outlined in that letter a scenario which implicated Department of Human Resources Secretary Christopher McCabe in providing inadequate health care for foster children. Genn said Thursday he met Lane at a Republican fund-raiser the summer she was fired and became interested in her story.
"As a lawyer and a legislator, I've always tried to represent those without a voice, and I was hearing the cries of these kids through Michelle," Genn said as his justification for the letter.
Ehrlich said he did not initiate an investigation after reading the letter. "As governor, you don't get involved in this sort of lower-echeleon [sic] employment," Ehrlich said.
Gov. Ehrlich claims former employee tried to blackmail him by ANNA BAILEY, SF Examiner Staff Writer: March 24, 2005 [Complete Article]
The blackmail charge adds to the latest ongoing saga that has persisted since Ehrlich fired aide Joseph Steffen for spreading rumors on a conservative Web site saying that Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley was having an affair.
[...]
Gil Genn, a lobbyist and former Montgomery County delegate, wrote a letter to Ehrlich July 13, 2004, after Lane was fired informing the governor that Lane allegedly was fired because she "knew too much about the systemic problems [within foster care] and tried to correct them..."
Genn outlined in that letter a scenario which implicated Department of Human Resources Secretary Christopher McCabe in providing inadequate health care for foster children. Genn said Thursday he met Lane at a Republican fund-raiser the summer she was fired and became interested in her story.
"As a lawyer and a legislator, I've always tried to represent those without a voice, and I was hearing the cries of these kids through Michelle," Genn said as his justification for the letter.
Ehrlich said he did not initiate an investigation after reading the letter. "As governor, you don't get involved in this sort of lower-echeleon [sic] employment," Ehrlich said.
Gov. Ehrlich claims former employee tried to blackmail him by ANNA BAILEY, SF Examiner Staff Writer: March 24, 2005 [Complete Article]
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