Oaks returns to Annapolis amid federal charges



Oaks, 70, is accused of using his legislative letterhead to misrepresent the status of state funding for a project in exchange for money. Federal authorities say Oaks received $15,300 in payments for his assistance on the project. The money actually was supplied by the FBI and the transactions secretly recorded by its investigators, according to court documents.

If convicted, Oaks faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Oaks was assigned a court-appointed attorney Friday after saying he was unable to afford a lawyer, but the judge said he plans to review whether Oaks is able to contribute financially to his own defense.

U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson wrote that Oaks "may have sufficient resources to contribute financially to the payment of counsel fees." At the end of Oaks' case, the court can request an investigation into the longtime legislator's financial resources and recommend whether he should be required to pay for some of the services of his government-appointed lawyers.
"The cost of litigating a class like that is probably pretty high," he said.

The allegations against Oaks stem from an FBI investigation conducted while he was in the House of Delegates.

Before being appointed to the Senate in February, he spent 28 years representing Baltimore in the House of Delegates. He had served two terms when in 1989 he was convicted of stealing more than $10,000 from his campaign fund. He was also convicted of perjury and misconduct in office.

Oaks received a five-year suspended sentence and was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service. He was re-elected to the House in 1994.

The affidavit alleges that on September 21, 2015, a cooperating individual (the Cooperator) introduced Oaks to an FBI confidential human source (the CHS) who portrayed himself as an out-of-town businessperson interested in obtaining contracts in the City of Baltimore through a minority-owned business (the Company). The Company is a real business that is operated by a different cooperating defendant who is assisting the FBI with the investigation. The meeting took place at a restaurant in Pikesville, Maryland, and was consensually recorded by the Cooperator and the CHS. During the meeting, Oaks offered to assist the CHS with business development in Maryland.

I thought this was funny:

Jesus. People get the government they deserve.

Enough with the prejudice based accusations. The BS accusation in the photograph is uncalled for and unsupportable.

Isn't this the guy that thought Guam would flip over? Maybe that was a different Democrat.


Ok, maybe this one is better.

I have to agree, that one is better.

Better, worse? The lesser of two evils is still evil.

This one is funny