We’ve been covering the adventures of (former) Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby here since she came to national attention following the Freddie Gray riots of 2015. She quickly established a reputation for ignoring the crimes of the rioters and instead tried to lock up the police officers who arrested Gray. All but the most minor charges were eventually dismissed, but not until she had ruined many law enforcement careers. In the years that followed, Marilyn Mosby and her husband Nick (who is currently the president of the City Council) grew famous for other reasons, most notably accusations of financial misconduct and fraud. The reports of corruption eventually became too much even for Baltimore’s residents and Mosby was ejected from office last year. Now, the final bells have begun tolling for the Mosby family. This week, Marilyn Mosby was convicted of perjury regarding her corrupt practices and more court dates are awaiting her on other charges. At sentencing, she will face up to ten years in prison. (Baltimore Sun)

A federal jury on Thursday convicted Marilyn Mosby of perjury, bringing to a conclusion the first phase of the highly anticipated criminal case of Baltimore’s former state’s attorney.

With its verdict, the jury found Mosby lied about experiencing financial hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic to make herself eligible for money from her city retirement savings account under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

The decision followed approximately five hours of deliberation and three days of trial featuring detailed accounts of Mosby’s finances and a look into her personal ambition while serving as state’s attorney.

The perjury charges stemmed from the testimony that Mosby provided during hearings that examined her abuse of COVID relief program funds to benefit her family. In addition to the perjury charges, Mosby is still facing two counts of mortgage fraud, but no date has been set for that possible trial yet. If convicted of everything, she would face a total of up to thirty years in prison.

But those aren’t the only possible charges she’s facing. She and her husband are also being investigated for tax evasion. The Mosby’s are separately facing allegations of campaign finance “irregularities.” They also apparently didn’t feel it was required for them to pay their water bills. Throughout all of this, Marilyn Mosby has remained indignant, insisting that she’s just a misunderstood public servant. She even filed a complaint against Fox News for reporting on her misdeeds.

For a long time, Marilyn Mosby was seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party. She clearly had aspirations to become the Mayor of Baltimore and possibly rise to higher offices as well. The Democrats loved her and she was featured at the DNC National Convention in 2016. Everyone managed to ignore her pesky legal troubles that were always brewing in the background. But in reality, Marilyn and Nick Mosby had been following the path of too many prominent Baltimore Democrats (including multiple mayors who wound up going to jail), looking at the city’s coffers as their personal piggy banks.

Now the chickens appear to be coming home to roost at long last. Marilyn Mosby will almost certainly wind up doing at least some time behind bars if there is any justice left in the system. Nick Mosby has already been ordered to return city funds that he claimed in violation of ethics laws. One of his top aides was recently arrested on gun and drug charges. It just feels like there’s a lot more swirling around under the covers in Nick Mosby’s affairs, and government officials have been taking notice. It won’t be too surprising if he winds up before a judge himself at some point.

Baltimore has been in decline for a long time. Gang violence and endemic crime plague the city while many residents remain mired in poverty and face dangers on their streets. All the while, they keep electing people who focus on lining their own pockets rather than seriously addressing the city’s problems and improving the lives of the people. It’s rather painful to watch, but that’s just what Baltimore has become in the modern era. And that’s a crying shame because it was once a beautiful place and a center for shipbuilding on the east coast. Sadly, those days are in the past and seem unlikely to return.