Former PG County Councilman At-Large Mel Franklin was charged in an Anne Arundel Court for embezzling funds from his campaign and falsifying his campaign finance forms.
The official charging document is here – https://osp.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/Franklin-Criminal-Information.pdf
Considering his campaign treasurer had no access to the campaign funds since 2010, and Mel was the only person who could access the funds, it’s highly likely that he was dipping into the campaign funds for years. Because the Maryland Statute of Limitations on election crimes is four years, the charges only go back to the 2020.
This is the same man who crashed a county car while driving drunk in 2016. He didn’t just crash the county’s car, he put two people in the hospital, and fled the scene. And for all that, he was granted Probation Before Judgement, which allows him to claim he was never charged with a DUI.
Considering his campaign treasurer had no access to the campaign funds since 2010, and Mel was the only person who could access the funds, it’s highly likely that he was dipping into the campaign funds for years. Because the Maryland Statute of Limitations on election crimes is four years, the charges only go back to the 2020.
This is the same man who crashed a county car while driving drunk in 2016. He didn’t just crash the county’s car, he put two people in the hospital, and fled the scene. And for all that, he was granted Probation Before Judgement, which allows him to claim he was never charged with a DUI.