Queen Anne's settles $5 million land deal

The Baltimore Sun

Despite requests by Comptroller Peter Franchot for a delay, Queen Anne's County officials settled yesterday on a 270-acre parcel of preservation land that had become the object of intense political scrutiny.

The state and county paid the U.S. Land Alliance, a for-profit preservation group, $5 million for the property, which was valued at $3.6 million and $4.6 million in separate appraisals. Franchot had sought a delay amid questions about the purchase price and potential conflicts of interest involving Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration.

Queen Anne's County Commission President Eric S. Wargotz said the closing went without a hitch. He said the tract connects with other pieces of preserved land and will help preserve the area's rural heritage and prevent sprawl.

"We're just grateful to the state, even though the process ran a torturous course for a while," Wargotz said.

David Sutherland, the president of the U.S. Land Alliance, served on Gov. Martin O'Malley's transition team and was part of a 30-member environmental steering committee. However, O'Malley aides say the governor has never met him.

While in the private sector, John R. Griffin, Maryland secretary of natural resources, worked as a consultant on part of the deal. Before he returned to state government, Griffin got an opinion from the state ethics commission saying his previous work on the deal did not pose a conflict of interest.

Andrew A. Green

Baltimore

Outage closes Schaefer tower

The William Donald Schaefer Tower in downtown Baltimore was forced to close yesterday morning because of a power outage, delaying the work of more than 1,500 state employees from 17 agencies, according to the Department of General Services, which manages state properties.

Dave Humphrey, a DGS spokesman, said power was restored to the 27-story building at 6 St. Paul St. by midmorning, but workers' re-entry was delayed until offices were sufficiently cool.

He said that at one point, the temperature in the upper levels reached 86 degrees. "It's not comfortable," Humphrey said.

The spokesman said the outage was triggered by a BGE cable problem.

Delaware

Shooting suspect kills himself

A Maryland man sought in the fatal shooting of his mother killed himself Monday night in Wilmington, Del., an autopsy showed yesterday.

Wilmington police spokesman Master Sgt. Steven Barnes said Christopher Wayne Gary, 27, of Germantown was pronounced dead at the scene after a confrontation with two Wilmington police officers. Previous accounts reported that he had been fatally shot by police officers after he fired at them.

Barnes said an autopsy showed that Gary sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the mouth and was not hit by bullets fired by the officers.

Gary was wanted by Prince George's County authorities in the death of his mother and the wounding of a neighbor Sunday night in Bowie.

Prince George's County police spokeswoman Cpl. Diane Richardson said Gary went to visit his mother about 8 p.m. Sunday, pulled out a handgun and shot Evelyn "Nadine" Woods, 50, several times. While fleeing, Gary was confronted by his stepfather. Gary shot at him and missed, but hit a neighbor who was standing across the street, Richardson said.

Shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, officers saw Gary's vehicle on the Delaware Memorial Bridge and followed him. Gary's vehicle hit two other cars, and the man then fled on foot.

As two Wilmington police officers confronted Gary in a vacant lot, he held his gun to his head and threatened suicide, Barnes said. He then lowered his weapon in the direction of the officers, who fired at him. At that point, he apparently put the gun to his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to police.

Associated Press

Hagerstown

Convicted sex offender arrested

Federal authorities have arrested an ordained rabbi from Hagerstown, convicted in Maryland and New York of sexually abusing children, after he was deported from India, accused of violating his parole.

Alan Horowitz, 60, was arrested at an airport in Newark, N.J., about 4 a.m. Sunday, the U.S. Marshals Service reported.

The former Hagerstown child psychiatrist was convicted in 1983 of sexually assaulting two brothers, ages 12 and 8, The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail reported.

He was given a five-year suspended prison sentence and ordered into a religious program in Monsey, N.Y. Horowitz was convicted by a New York court in 1991 of sexually abusing children and he spent 13 years in prison before being paroled in November 2004.

He left the United States in the spring of 2006 and reportedly visited a number of spots in Asia before arriving in India, where he was arrested.

Associated Press

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