Gift Card Scandal Could Sink Baltimore Mayor

BEN NUCKOLS

BALTIMORE (AP) — The accusations that Mayor Sheila Dixon used holiday gift cards for the needy during personal shopping sprees may sound like a minor embarrassment at worst, a small-time case of a politician enjoying the perks of power.

For Dixon, the stakes could not be higher.

Dixon, 55, will put her political future in the hands of a jury Monday, when her trial on theft charges begins. She's accused of asking wealthy developer pals to donate gift cards worth thousands of dollars, saying they would be given to poor families — then using them to buy electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy and knickknacks at Target. If convicted, she would be tossed out of office.

She faces a separate trial later on perjury charges stemming from accusations that she didn't report gifts from her ex-boyfriend, a real estate developer who received tax breaks from the city.

The allegations have bruised Dixon since they surfaced in January, leaving her isolated and politically vulnerable. President Barack Obama ignored her during his pre-inaugural whistle-stop tour, and her relationship with Gov. Martin O'Malley is lukewarm at best. Key city positions, including health commissioner, are vacant.