Mayor Catherine Pugh approved $19,800 in city funds to a nonprofit she previously chaired and that lists three top members of her City Hall staff on its board of directors — another example of how her business dealings have intersected with politics.
The Maryland Center for Adult Training Inc. has received a total of $75,900 from the city since 2016 with another $20,000 pledged this fiscal year, according to Board of Estimates minutes and officials in the Mayor's Office of Employment Development. Pugh approved the $19,800 in August 2017, nine months into her tenure as mayor. The BBJ's review was made in light of Pugh's "Healthy Holly" scandal that involved claims of self-dealing of about $700,000 in payments from several organizations for the paperback children's book she self-published. In the Business Journal's examination of the Maryland Center for Adult Training, it found that three members of Pugh's staff and one attorney associated with Healthy Holly LLC were listed as directors on MCAT's website. The BBJ last accessed the MCAT website on Friday but as of Monday afternoon, the website was not live.
