Ex-state senator gets seven years

BALTIMORE -- A federal judge sentenced a former lawmaker Friday to seven years in prison for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a construction company executive in return for securing state contracts.

Former Senate Finance Committee Chairman Thomas Bromwell, 58, once among the most powerful legislators in the state, pleaded guilty in July to racketeering conspiracy and filing a false tax return.

"You hurt the citizens of Maryland and you also hurt everybody who goes out and works for a living," U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz told Bromwell, a Democrat who represented Baltimore County from 1983 to 2002.

Prosecutors asked Motz to impose a sentence of nearly eight years, the maximum under sentencing guidelines.

Bromwell's wife, Mary Patricia Bromwell, 44, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for accepting a salary for a no-show job with a contractor controlled by the Baltimore construction company, Poole and Kent Co. She pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.

Bromwell told the court that his children would be without their best friend with their mother in jail.

"My wife's involvement is clearly on my shoulders and I would hope that this court would take that into consideration," Bromwell said.

The former legislator had asked the judge to consider the effect that sending the couple to prison would have on their children, and Motz said that prompted him to give her a shorter sentence. The couple have three children, ages 11, 14 and 22.

Motz set Jan. 7 as the date for the Bromwells to begin their sentences, but said he would consider a request to stagger their time in prison.

"This case should send a powerful message that government officials who betray the public trust will be held accountable," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a news release. "Thomas Bromwell traded his political influence for money, and Mary Patricia Bromwell participated in the scheme."

Seven other people were indicted in the case. All have pleaded guilty and are to be sentenced over the next three weeks.