Michael B. Mitchell, a former state senator and Baltimore councilman who works for the Maryland Transportation Authority, failed to report outside business interests in annual financial disclosure statements filed with the state.
Mitchell, who stepped down Friday from his role managing the finances of his uncle, former Rep. Parren J. Mitchell, is required to file such statements with the state Ethics Commission because he holds a $40,575-a-year job with the MdTA in its Dundalk offices. State records list him as the coordinator of a program called "Managing for Results."
Responding to an article in The Sun about his role in a Pigtown bar and nightclub, Michael Mitchell said in a radio interview that he has worked as a "consultant" and "promoter" for the Short Stop Bar & Lounge since 1993. But Mitchell's role at the bar does not appear on financial disclosure forms he filed with the Ethics Commission in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
The bar is under investigation by the Maryland comptroller's office for failing to pay business taxes and for operating for two years without proper licenses.
Records of three city agencies show Mitchell has been involved with the bar for several years. One city record lists him as an owner, while others refer to him as a business manager.
Michael Mitchell has refused repeated requests by The Sun for an interview.
Although Mitchell said Friday on the Larry Young Show on WOLB-AM that "I do not own that bar," the involvement he said he had at the Short Stop should have been reported, according to state ethics law.
The law requires state employees in certain pay grades, including Mitchell's, to "list the name and address of any places of employment and of business entities wholly or partially owned by you, your spouse or dependent child, and from which income was earned during the reporting period whether or not the entity did business with the state ... including, for example, salaried employment, individual consulting activities."
Although she would not comment on Mitchell's case, Suzanne S. Fox, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said failure to disclose such business relationships could result in civil fines of up to $5,000 and criminal charges of perjury.
She said the employee's department could take additional action, including termination.
Mitchell said on the radio program that he was working two jobs to help pay for 24-hour nursing care for his uncle, who has been a patient in the Keswick Multi-Care Center for the past three years.
A Keswick official has said that his bills there have never been paid. It is unclear if he also has received private nursing care.
The Sun has reported that Parren Mitchell has fallen deeply into debt since Michael Mitchell took control of his finances. The bills, which total more than $140,000, include unpaid state and federal income taxes, money owed to Keswick and a car loan.
In addition to his interest in the bar, state corporation records show Michael Mitchell is director of two companies formed in 2000: Savannah's Inc., another name under which the Short Stop has operated, and J&M; Statewide Bail Bonds and Insurance Inc. J&M;'s offices are located at 1415 Washington Blvd., upstairs from the bar.
Neither firm is listed on his annual disclosure forms for 2000 or 2001.
Arthur M. Frank, an attorney listed as the registered agent for Michael Mitchell's businesses, declined to comment.