7.6.

10

New Questions for Bob Ehrlich

 
There are new questions this week for Bob Ehrlich over his selection of a running mate, as the
Washington Post detailed allegations of “widespread fraud” by Mary Kane and her husband’s company
in its pursuit of contracts with federal agencies.
 
The complaint, filed under the False Claim Act, says the Kane Co. and its subsidiaries paid lower wages
than mandated on moving and office installation projects for the federal government dating to 1998. 
Mary Kane is a co-owner of the company and was a member of the Kane Co.'s board of directors from
1997 to 2003, when much of the alleged conduct is said to have taken place.
 
Last week, Bob Ehrlich refused to answer questions about the matter, but new information provided by
the Washington Post shows that the complaint against the Kane Company is serious business for Bob
Ehrlich and his running mate.
 
"It certainly indicates that the government believes there is real credibility to the case," said Altomease
R. Kennedy, a Washington lawyer with no involvement in the matter.  And if the allegations are proved,
it could face millions in civil penalties. 
 
So while his former Lt. Governor Michael Steele is making national headlines for his "wildly inaccurate"
"uninformed, unnecessary, unwise, untimely," comments about the war in Afghanistan, Bob Ehrlich has
questions of his own to answer about his new running mate, Mary Kane. 

 
1.        Did Bob Ehrlich understand that Mary Kane was a co-owner of the
company with her husband John Kane, the former chair of the Maryland
Republican Party?   Did he know that Mary Kane owns 50 percent of the
company under federal investigation? 
 
On Friday, Mary Kane told WUSA that she and her husband bought the company.  “We bought the
company," she said. 

 
While an Ehrlich spokesman said those words were "a figure of speech, not an indication of actual
ownership, a financial disclosure statement filed by Mary Kane last week with the State Ethics
Commission showed she holds a 50 percent "joint interest" in the Kane Co.

A statement by the Ehrlich campaign said the disclosure refers only to the share of the company she
would receive if the couple divorced.   

Mary Kane is a lawyer. 

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2.        Did Bob Ehrlich realize the severity of the allegations against Mary Kane
and her husband’s company when he selected her to be his running mate?   
According to the complaint filed in federal court, the Kane Co. and its affiliates engaged in "fraudulently
double billing the government."  The company "would engage in the practice of having staff . . . sign in
on government time sheets and then leave the workplace to work on private sector projects or other
government jobs," the complaint says.”

“It certainly indicates that the government believes there is real credibility to the case," said Altomease
R. Kennedy, a Washington lawyer with no involvement in the matter.  She said the government typically
intervenes in about 20 percent of the cases it investigates.

3.        Bob Ehrlich has said that choosing a Lieutenant Governor is one of the
most important decisions he will make. In light of the scandal surrounding Mary
Kane and the comments by Michael Steele last week regarding Afghanistan,
does Bob Ehrlich believe this reflects poorly on his judgment and decision
making?
Bob Ehrlich told the Washington Post, "We looked at it, so it factored in, but obviously we concluded it
was non-germane to Mary and her ability to be lieutenant governor," Ehrlich said.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Ehrlich said in the WUSA9 TV interview that he is not worried about the
federal suit and hinted that he would not have picked Kane had he thought it would be a distraction.  "If
this was going to be a big issue she may not be sitting here,” he said. “But we're certainly satisfied with
it."
 
Bob Ehrlich also told the Sun that Mary Kane is part of the family.  "She's a familiar face and a capable
person," he said. He has said the leading reason he selected Kane is because he knows and trusts her.
"She's part of the family."
 
According to the Washington Post, Bob Ehrlich picks people he can trust.   "I like to pick people that I
know," Ehrlich told reporters at the event in Silver Spring. "I like to pick people I trust. . . . That has to be
the foundation."
 
Mary Kane served in Ehrlich's Cabinet, and her husband, John, was chairman of the Maryland
Republican Party while Ehrlich was governor.
 
4.        Would Bob Ehrlich choose a new running mate if Mary Kane and her
husband’s company is found to have defrauded the government during the time
that she served on the Board of Directors? 
 

5.        Does Bob Ehrlich believe that someone involved in defrauding the federal
government is capable of serving as Lt. Governor for the State of Maryland,
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especially when her company profited from state contracts with Bob Ehrlich was
governor?
 The Baltimore Sun reported in 2003 that the Kane family business "continued to do a brisk business
with the state" after Ehrlich became governor and brought Mary Kane into his administration.  Kane's
company collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state of Maryland during Ehrlich's term,
from contracts with agencies including the Maryland Aviation Administration, the Maryland Judiciary
Administration, and the Department of General Services.  Maryland taxpayers have paid Kane's
company millions of dollars.

6.        The Kane Company has said that it would not take State government
contracts if Mary Kane were elected LG.  In light of that decision, does Bob
Ehrlich believe it was a mistake when his administration awarded millions in
government contracts to the Kane Company when Mary Kane was Secretary of
State?