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Baltimore County Republican accused of theft, misconduct in office

Doug Kerr // Flickr Creative Commons

State Del. Rick Impallaria has been charged with several counts of theft and misconduct in office.

The Baltimore County Republican used $92,800 in state funds to pay rent on a space where he stored personal belongings, according to the Office of the State Prosecutor. His district also includes parts of Harford county.

Though Impallaria said the rent was for a “district office,” the space was outside his district and adjacent to his personal cottage. It also shared a landlord with his personal cottage.

The same month the General Assembly began paying rent on the space, Impallaria allegedly stopped paying rent on his nearby personal cottage. Prosecutors say the General Assembly was paying roughly twice the average rent of other buildings in the area.

Impallaria also allegedly spent $2,405.30 in state funds on campaign fundraising letters. Prosecutors say he facilitated the creation of an invoice that made it appear those funds were paying for office furniture, but he never actually bought the furniture.

Impallaria did not have a lawyer listed in court records and could not be reached for comment.

Impallaria recently lost his seat in the Republican primary.

Rachel Baye is a senior reporter and editor in WYPR's newsroom.