Aberdeen Ice Cream Company Manager Sentenced For Failing To Pay Taxes On More Than $236,000 Stolen From Her Employer
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office:
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Katina Virginia Martin, age 37, of Aberdeen, Maryland, today to 18 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for signing two false tax returns. Judge Quarles also entered an order that Martin pay restitution of $236,175.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge C. Andre’ Martin of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
“All income is subject to taxes, whether stolen or earned lawfully,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
“Prosecuting individuals who intentionally conceal income is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” stated C. Andre’ Martin, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “All Americans have a duty to pay their fair share.”
According to Martin’s plea agreement, she was an assistant office manager at an ice cream company, responsible for counting the money that was collected by truck drivers who delivered ice cream to the company’s wholesale customers. The customers paid by cash and checks. Martin compared the total amount of money collected by the drivers to the total amount of money due from each customer as reflected on the drivers’ delivery invoices. Martin was to investigate and reconcile any discrepancies in the daily receipts.
Martin admits that beginning in November 2004, she did not record all of the cash that had been collected. Instead, Martin deposited into her personal bank account $9,450 of the cash collected in 2004; and $226,725 of the cash collected in 2005. She failed to advise the tax preparer who prepared Martin and her husband’s joint income tax returns for 2004 and 2005 of the money she stole from her employer.
As a result of this scheme, Martin wrongfully avoided paying $61,738 in federal income taxes she owed to the IRS for the years 2004 and 2005.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Martin J. Clarke who prosecuted the case.
February 17, 2010 at 9:40 pmYoung Democrats of Harford Host Health Reform Rally in Aberdeen
From the Young Democrats of Harford County:
Saturday, February 20, 2010
4:00pm – 5:00pm
1537 S. Philadelphia Blvd., Aberdeen, MD 21001
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Progressive Maryland is hosting a healthcare reform rally in Aberdeen THIS SATURDAY in connection with a series of rallies held from Philadelphia to D.C. this month! We need a big turn out to show just how much Democrats in particular (and for that matter any progressively-minded person that is hoping to see health insurance reform a reality) to show up in big numbers. We turned some heads with almost 80 people in Bel Air last September, now lets see if we can get a few times that many in the progressive stronghold of our county. PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO ALL OTHER INTERESTED GROUPS, PARTICULARLY THOSE WITH A VESTED INTEREST IN SEEING HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM A REALITY!!! For more information contact me or visit http://melaniesmarch.com/ or www.progressivemaryland.org. Remember… this Saturday at 4:00pm in Aberdeen … we need you there!
Here is the full press release for the event:
February 15, 2010 at 3:12 pmA GROUP OF PENNSYLVANIANS ARE MARCHING FROM PHILADELPHIA TO WASHINGTON FROM FEBRUARY 17 TO 24 IN HONOR OF MELANIE SHOUSE.
Recently, our friend Melanie Shouse lost her long battle with breast cancer after missing out on critical treatment because she, like thousands of others, could not find affordable health insurance.
President Obama, who knew Melanie as a volunteer on his campaign, said: “She was fighting that whole time not just to get me elected, not even to get herself health insurance, but because she understood that there were others coming behind her who were going to find themselves in the same situation and she didn’t want somebody else going through that same thing.” Melanie did everything she could to fight for health care, not just for herself, but for all of us.
March to The finish line For Melanie
February 17-24th, We’re Marching from Philadelphia to Washington, DC, to Realize Melanie’s Last Wish
A lot of us are frustrated that, after mobilizing for over a year to reform health care and achieve other critically important changes, we are still waiting for the change we voted for. But we’re not giving up either. A group of Pennsylvanians, some with health care issues of their own, decided to march 135 miles from Philadelphia to Washington in honor of Melanie, carrying her message to the Members of Congress who need to hear it the most.
We’ll arrive on February 24th, just before President Obama’s Health Care Summit. So, as the summit begins we’ll be there to tell lawmakers enough is enough! Members of Congress have had plenty of time to discuss and debate health care over the past year. Now it’s their job to make it happen.
It’s time to get it done and get it done right. Congress must deliver the change we voted for!
We’d like to meet you along our route as we march to deliver Melanie’s message to Washington. You can join us for part of the march or for an event along the way. You can bring us your stories about the need for health care reform, which we will take to the members of Congress we meet. Or even better, you can join us for the final stretch as we march to the Capitol. You can also follow us on-line at www.melaniesmarch.com where you can show your support by taking action or making a donation.
Date and time
Saturday, February 20
4:00 pm
County
Harford County
Rally/Press Conf.Event Location
Park Moving and Storage
1537 S. Philadelphia Blvd. (Route 40)
Aberdeen, MD 21001
15-Yr-Old Girl Dies After Feb. 5 Collision With Snow Plow in Aberdeen
The 15-year-old girl, Kelsey Elaine Brown, who was critically injured in a Feb. 5 accident when the vehicle in which she was traveling struck a snow plow, has died from her injuries.
Maryland State Police reported today (Monday) that the teenager died over the weekend. She had been at Bayview Hospital in critical and unstable condition.
The accident occured on the afternoon of Feb. 5 when the mini-van being driven by the victim’s mother, Carrie Ann Brown of Darlington, struck a dump truck on Paradise Road at the I-95 overpass in Aberdeen. Police said the dump truck, privately-owned by contracted by the Maryland State Highway Administration, was parked on the side of the road and preparing to plow the forthcoming snow.
Here is the original MSP press release:
February 2, 2010 at 10:32 pmMOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION WITH SERIOUS PERSONAL INJURY
(Aberdeen, Md.) On February 5, 2010 at approximately 3:09 p.m. troopers from the Maryland State Police Bel Air Barrack responded to northbound Paradise Road (MD 462) at the I-95 overpass, for a vehicle collision.
Preliminary investigation revealed that a 2002 Chevrolet Venture was traveling northbound Paradise Road at the above location. For reasons unknown at this time, the driver of the Venture entered the right roadside where it struck a 1987 Mack Dump Truck. The dump truck was parked on the right shoulder of the roadway standing-by for the pending snow storm. The dump truck is privately owned and was under contract through the Maryland State Highway Administration. A 15 year old female passenger (Kelsey Elaine Brown) suffered serious/critical personal injuries and was transported to Bayview Hospital where her condition remains critical and unstable. The passenger’s mother (Carrie Ann Brown, Darlington, Md.) was also transported to Bayview and is in critical condition.
Younger siblings (6 and 10 year old) were transported to other medical facilities with less serious injuries.
Collision Reconstructionist from the Maryland State Police Bel Air Barrack and the CRASH Team continue to investigate the cause of this collision.
Aberdeen Officers Arrest Man Wanted for Vehicle Thefts in Several States
From Aberdeen Police Department:
(Aberdeen, Maryland) February 1 2010 – David Lamont Jones 43, of Chester Pennsylvania is suspected of stealing numerous work vans and trucks in multiple states. Over the last several years Jones would target motels stealing a work type vehicles. Jones would than drive the stolen vehicle to another location, usually out of state, abandon the vehicle and steal another.
On February 1, 2010 Aberdeen Officers from the Rapid Response Team and Criminal Investigation Section were conducting surveillance near motels in the west end of the City in an attempt to apprehend Jones.
At about 12:30 AM officers observed a white Ford van pull to the rear of the Clarion Hotel and park. Officers pulled behind the van as the driver, Jones, exited and after seeing the police Jones got back in the van and fled. After a short chase Jones fled on foot after bailing out of the vehicle. A K-9 unit from the Havre de Grace Police Department was requested as officers established a perimeter.
A foot search was conducted for Jones; he was located hiding in some bushes near the LaQuinta Inn on West Bel Air Avenue.
Jones has been charged with motor vehicle theft and several traffic violations, including fleeing and eluding. Jones will face additional charges in Delaware
Jones is currently being held at the Harford County Detention Center on $250,000.00 bond.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Kirk Bane, Criminal Investigation Section, at 410-272-2121.
January 21, 2010 at 10:34 pmAberdeen Middle School Students Net Trophy for Robot Design
From Harford County Public Schools:
Elizabeth Cartier, seventh grade science teacher at Aberdeen Middle School, recently led her middle school students to a win in the 2009 “Smart Move” Challenge as part of the FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotics Competition.
FIRST is an acronym for the phrase ‘For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,’ and every year FLL works with experts in the field to develop a challenge that relates to a significant real-world issue. The end result is two-fold and requires research to complete the project, as well as science and engineering to master the complex missions of the robot game. The goal of the 2009 “Smart Move” Challenge was to change the way people view transportation.
Ms. Cartier advised the school’s first-ever robotics team, which won the technical design trophy for the best robot design and presentation at Salisbury Middle School on January 9th. The team qualified to compete in the state competition this year, to be held on January 30th at the University of Maryland. Ms. Cartier was also a participant in the University of Delaware’s Nature InSpired Engineering-Research Experience for Teachers (NISE-RET) program during the summer of 2008.
January 16, 2010 at 9:57 amUPDATED: Off Duty Officer Stabbed, Several Others Injured in Aberdeen Hotel Melee
From the Aberdeen Police Department:
(Aberdeen, Maryland) January 16, 2010 – Four people including an off duty police officer remain at Shock Trauma in serious but stable condition all are suffering from various stab wounds. Investigators say a fight broke out between two men in the parking lot of the Diamond Club. One of the men produced a knife stabbing the other man, four others, including the off duty officer, were stabbed as they attempted to break up the fight.
Kibwa Cazemba Evans 31, of Baltimore has been arrested and will be charged with several counts of attempted murder and first and second-degree assault. Evans was injured in the incident and was transported to Bayview Hospital where he was treated and released.
The others victims are identified as follows:
- Roshon Harris 25 of Aberdeen- flown to Shock Trauma
- Bryan Joyner 29 of Baltimore- at Shock Trauma after being transferred from Harford Memorial Hospital
-Timothy Daughton 35 of Perryman- at Shock Trauma after being transferred from Harford Memorial Hospital
- Terrance Coleman 28 of Elkton- treated at Union Hospital in Elkton and released
- Off duty officer- Todd Duncan 43, a 3 year veteran of the department- flown to Shock Trauma
At about 1:50 AM an off duty Aberdeen officer, working secondary employment at the Clarion Hotel, requested assistance for a disturbance at the Diamond Club, 980 Hospitality Way, in Aberdeen.
Arriving officers found the off duty officer and several other people suffering from stab wounds. At this time the officer and one civilian have been transported to Shock Trauma, six others, including the suspect, are being treated for various injuries, four at Harford Memorial Hospital; one at Bayview and one civilian that arrived by personal vehicle at Union Hospital in Elkton, the extent of their injuries are unknown.
Assistance was received for the Maryland Sate Police, Harford County Sheriff’s Department and the Bel Air Police. The injured were transported by paramedics from Maryland State Police aviation, Aberdeen Fire Department, Level Fire Company and the Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps.
January 15, 2010 at 7:24 pmAmtrak Train Kills Man Near Aberdeen
A man was struck and killed by an Amtrak train south of the Aberdeen train station Friday afternoon, according to police.
Aberdeen police said officers arrived at “rear” of the 600 block of Philadelphia Boulevard in Aberdeen shortly before 2:30 p.m. Friday, and discovered a deceased adult male bearing injuries consistent with being struck by a train.
Amtrak police are handling the investigation, and no further information was available Friday night. An Amtrak spokesman said regular service was resumed at 5:36 p.m.
The death is the second on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor in Maryland this month. On Jan. 5, 14-year-old Anna Marie Stickel was killed by a train while walking on tracks in Middle River.
Here’s the Amtrak bulletin:
January 1, 2010 at 2:24 pmNortheast Corridor Service Disruption
January 15, 2010
3:05 pmAt 2:22 pm today, all rail traffic was temporarily suspended between Washington, DC and Philadelphia as a result of an investigation of a body found near Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor tracks one-half mile south of Aberdeen, Md., station. It is believed the individual whose body was found about 15 feet west of the railroad tracks was struck by a train. Amtrak Police and local police are investigating. Two tracks were reopened at 2:48 pm at restricted speed. Minor delays can be expected for trains operating between Washington and Philadelphia.
Harford 2000-2009: Stories Of The Decade
What a difference a decade makes.
From January 2000 to December 2009, Harford County enjoyed an historic housing boom, then suffered through historic economic downturn.
Harford was the big winner in the U.S. Army’s Base Realignment and Closure decision, but has yet to experience any meaningful impact from BRAC other than the headaches and problems associated with preparing for the anticipated growth.
Harford lost many familiar faces who passed away doing what they loved most in the last decade, but also saw several who left the scene for more nefarious reasons.
Havre de Grace saw a major international golf tournament arrive and depart, and watched as its Promenade was destroyed and rebuilt.
Harford hero Cal Ripken, Jr. retired from baseball, built a stadium in his hometown, and was elected to the Hall of Fame, while ice skater Kimmie Meissner propelled herself toward Harford hero status with her Olympic performance.
Far too much transpired in the previous ten years for us to fairly rate, rank, or sort out, but let’s give it a shot anyway.
During the last decade, what stories, events, or happenings were of the most importance to you?
To get things started, here are some of our top stories of the decade 2000-2009:
- Those we lost. The list of prominent obituaries during the decade would certainly include State Sen. Bob Hooper, School Superintendent Jacqueline Haas, former Del. Joanne Parrott, Harford County Councilman Veronica Chenowith, and former County Council President and Judge John Hardwicke – who died on Christmas Eve.
- The tone for the entire decade was set on Sept. 11, 2001. The already-close relationship between Harford and its military presence at Aberdeen Proving Ground and its emergency responders was redoubled and remains as strong as ever at the close of the decade. Much like many communities across the nation, Harford had its share of residents who lost loved ones and were personally impacted by the terrorist attacks of that day.
- It was announced mid-decade, 2005 to be exact, that Harford and APG were the big winners in the federal BRAC process. With the decade over and just one year remaining before the mandated 2011 transfer, Harford seems as far as ever from realizing what BRAC could/would/should actually bring – much less tapping into its potential.
- It was a big decade for Cal Ripken, Jr. The Aberdeen native turned 40 in 2000, retired from baseball in 2001, built a stadium in his hometown in 2002 (which could be its own entry in this list for potentially setting the city on the path to bankruptcy), and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2007.
- In 2003, Havre de Grace saw its crown jewel, the Promenade boardwalk, tossed around like a rag doll before ultimately being torn asunder and scattered along the upper Chesapeake Bay/lower Susquehanna River shoreline. A year later, with the help of Americorps and a legion of volunteers, the boardwalk was rebuilt.
- At the height of the real estate and economic boom in 2005, Harford was flying high when it was announced the LPGA Championship would be moving from its longtime home in Delaware to Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace. This would be a final feather in the county’s cap – drawing tourism dollars from across the nation and around the world. By the end of the decade, the economy was in free-fall, attendance at the tournament waned, and the LPGA announced it would be moving to Rochester, New York beginning in 2010.
- In 2006, Fallston High School student and ice skater Kimmie Meissner was the youngest American athlete competing in the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. She came in sixth place, leading to a string of impressive victories and international recognition. By the end of the decade, Meissner had moved to Florida and withdrawn from several skating competitions due to injury. There may still be a road in downtown Bel Air named in her honor.
- Those who left the scene. County executive Jim Harkins miraculously survived an embarrassing 911-call debacle, but jumped ship from his second term a year early when buddy Gov. Robert Ehrlich named him Director of Maryland Environmental Services in 2005. Curiously and similarly, Del. Chuck Boutin left his term early when Ehrlich tapped him to join the Public Service Commission, also in 2005. Boutin only held that job until 2007, when he resigned after allegations of exchanged e-mails with a suspected prostitute surfaced. Inexplicably, Boutin was almost immediately offered a position as Administrative Law Judge in the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings, which he took.
- Fall 2007: The Dagger is born.
What else happened between January 2000 and December 2009 that you think is worth mentioning?
December 31, 2009 at 11:25 amHarford 2009: The Dagger’s Top Ten Stories Of The Year
The year 2009 opened on a sad note in Harford County with residents still mourning the death of prominent, longtime school superintendent Jacqueline Haas. Before the year was over, Harford County would lose two other wellknown female leaders – former delegate Joanne Parrott and Harford County Councilwoman Veronica Chenowith.
It was also a year of contradiction. Even as President-Elect Barack Obama slowed his inaugural train ride through Edgewood in January to wave and thank a thousand or so supporters, there were a thousand or so more Harford County residents who fought tooth-and-nail in September to prevent President Obama’s live address to be shown to their children during the school day.
Bel Air High School was demolished and Fallston Library was spared from closure. Art Helton survived another political scandal in Aberdeen while Harford County’s delegation to the Maryland General Assembly played a furious and humiliating game of musical chairs in Annapolis.
Citizens were outraged that Del. Pat McDonough couldn’t carry his questionable campaign signs during the Bel Air Independence Day Parade, yet couldn’t muster the same reaction when it was exposed that the Board of Education may have seriously bungled the bidding process for the new Red Pump Elementary School.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 stories of 2009, as chosen by The Dagger staff:
#1 – Obama Slows His Roll Through Harford To Greet Edgewood Crowd
While his ride never came to a stop, President-Elect Barack Obama, with Joe Biden by his side, smiled, waved and even interacted with a few people, which was good enough for the thousand or so gathered at the Edgewood train station who had waited hours in the stinging cold of mid-January to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be president aboard the train that would eventually take him to Washington D.C. for his inauguration.
#2 – Harford Schools Will Not Broadcast Obama’s Live Address To Students
The White House issued an advisory that President Barack Obama would be speaking live to the nation’s school children at noon on September 8th in an address that could be streamed directly into the schools. The President’s speech about the importance of education was reportedly planned for weeks, but a national backlash erupted that included a call to boycott the schools that decide to air the speech by keeping students home on the day of the broadcast.
Harford County Public Schools sent a mass Alert Now phone call out to parents with a message saying the speech would not be broadcast live in school, but leaving open the possibility that the speech might be used in the classroom at a later date.
#3 – Three Of A Kind: Our Dearly Departed (Haas, Parrott, Chenowith)
They say these things happen in 3’s, so we included Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Haas in our triumvirate of dearly departed, even though she passed away just a few days shy of 2009. Haas died after apparently suffering an asthma attack and then going into cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
In early March, Joanne S. Parrott, a former state delegate and Harford County Council President, was found dead in her home at the age of 68.
Just a few weeks later, longtime Harford County Councilwoman Veronica “Roni” Chenowith, who had represented Fallston and Emmorton since 1994, died after battling cancer for several years.
#4 – “The Goal Was To Destroy The Harford County Delegation…”
Dissension in the ranks led to all out mutiny among members of the Harford County delegation to the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis, who, within two weeks, re-elected and then booted the chair and vice chair of the county delegation.
Dels. Susan McComas and Rick Impallaria were removed in early February as chair and vice chair in a controversial vote which both challenged. Dels. J.B. Jennings and Wayne Norman were installed in the place of McComas and Impallaria, who had just recently being reelected to their leadership positions. Then, in a letter dated April 20, Dels. McComas, Impallaria and Pat McDonough have formally requested that Jennings and Norman step down from their largely ceremonial positions as chair and vice-chair of the delegation.
#5 – Bel Air High School – Thanks for the Memories
The Bel Air High School building rose from the earth sixty years ago and it was demolished in fall of 2009. In August, as the wreckage had already begun with the glorious new replacement building standing by, ready to welcome students at the start of the new school year, The Dagger took a final tour of the old BAHS and the memories of those who taught and learned there.
#6 – Tempest In A Teapot? Independence Day Incident Brews Angry Response
An Independence Day incident, during which Del. Pat McDonough was apparently asked to observe long-standing July 4th parade rules forbidding the use and display of campaign signs, turned into a full-fledged fiasco that played out on airwaves and email in the first week of July.
McDonough cried “censorship!” and the rest is history. McDonough and his “angry mob that wasn’t” later went on to attack anything within reach, including The Dagger.
#7 – Fallston Library May Close In Wake Of Harford Budget Cuts
The Fallston Branch of the Harford County Public Library was set to close by the end of June in a cost-saving manuever deemed necessary after the County Executive and County Council mandated an additional 5% cut from each departmental budget.
Facing confusion and concern regarding the proposal, the Harford County Council issued a resolution urging all library branches to remain open and requesting the County Executive David Craig transfer money in the budget to save the Fallston branch.
#8 – The Art of War: No Tactic Off-Limits During Aberdeen Election Season
A police report filed in early summer against former State Senator and Harford County Councilman Art Helton became the most talked about topic during Aberdeen’s municipal election season this fall. According to the report, Helton was not charged earlier in the year after a 32-year-old woman who rented one of his properties accused him of harassment.
Much more interesting than the non-charges against Helton was the timing of the release of the police report bearing her accusations. The authorities canned their brief investigation months ago, but in an Aberdeen election, nothing stays buried.
#9 – Did Bidding Irregularities Stall Red Pump Elementary?
When the Harford County Board of Education cancelled plans to build Red Pump Elementary School last December, the school board was just days away from approving nearly $23 million in construction contracts that would have put shovels in the ground. The decision sparked a public debate over the fate of the school.
The Dagger learned in August that contractors who bid on Red Pump before it was cancelled filed an unusual number of protests over the bid process, raising the potential for legal action against Harford County Public Schools in the weeks leading up to the decision to scrap the school.
Was the specter of legal action the real reason Red Pump was ditched? And if it was not a factor, why wouldn’t the possibility of a court battle have been among the board’s considerations? More importantly, were the allegations of impropriety surrounding the bid process true? And if so, were they the result of one-time errors, or ongoing, systemic problems within HCPS?
#10 – “You Can’t Get The Ink Out Of Our Blood” – Baltimore Sun Takes On The Dagger
In early March, a few of us sat down with Baltimore Sun Today Editor Andrew Ratner for about an hour-and-a-half. A Harford County resident himself, Ratner had been following The Dagger for some time and was interested in writing a story about us.
If you haven’t read the now-epic story, you missed former Aberdeen mayor Fred Simmons trying to expose our embedded sources and opining on tattoos he thought I had; School Board member Mark Wolkow dissing our name; State Senator Barry Glassman sticking up for us; and Ratner himself commenting on my apparent apathy toward our website.
Ratner, a good journalist and a great guy, would leave The Sun within weeks of the story’s publication during one of many staff purgings at the paper in 2009.
Those were our hand-picked favorite stories of the year, but statistically speaking, the most popular, most read, most commented stories of the last year on The Dagger, even if they weren’t written in 2009, were:
- Two Years After The Attack, Alleged Rape Suspect Arrested In Forest Hill
- C. Milton Wright Fight Sends Student to Shock Trauma, Three Students Face Charges
- Charges Pending In Double Fatal Motor Vehicle Collision In Street
- Longer Terms, Weaker Mayor, Recall Votes Provided Through New Aberdeen City Charter
- Harford Election 2010: Political Round-Up
December 18, 2009 at 10:31 amHarford Technical High School Students Complete “Green Build”
From Harford County Public Schools:
Harford Technical High School was featured in “An Introduction to ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard For Maryland”, a code book for the green builds in the state. This book is used by professionals and inspectors in the industry.
The students and instructors of the Construction Technologies Program recently completed a 1,008 square foot, two-bedroom modular home utilizing the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Guidelines. The home was designated as a “green build” in partnership with Harford Habitat Humanity.
The home was constructed by the students over the course of the school year and was transported to a site in Aberdeen when it was completed.
