Appellate Court Rules Against Bereano

Fine and Suspension of Lobbyist Upheld in Dispute Over Contingency Contract

Bruce C. Bereano is challenging a 2003 decision.

One of Maryland's highest-paid lobbyists would be benched for the next General Assembly session and fined $5,000 for a violation of state ethics laws under a ruling issued yesterday by a state appellate court.

The decision by the Court of Special Appeals was another legal setback for Bruce C. Bereano, the first lobbyist in Maryland to earn more than $1 million a year. He was convicted in an unrelated fraud case in 1994 but staged a professional comeback that continued even after the State Ethics Commission in 2003 held that his contingency fee arrangement with a client was improper.

The commission imposed a $5,000 fine and ordered that Bereano's lobbying license be suspended for 10 months. The penalties have been stayed as Bereano has appealed -- and lost -- at the Circuit Court and now the state's lower appellate court. Yesterday's ruling could be appealed to the state's high court.

Bereano did not respond to a message left at his office late yesterday and did not answer his mobile or home telephones, where messages could not be left. His attorney, Timothy Maloney, declined to comment.

The case hinges on a relatively obscure rule that bars lobbyists from taking a percentage of state contracts they win for clients. It is a major test for the Ethics Commission, whose powers were increased in 2001 during a legislative crackdown on lobbyists, inspired in part by Bereano's actions.

Bereano has argued that his punishment was improper because the law barring contingency-based fees was not in place when he entered into the contract with a social services provider. The commission has contended that after the law went into effect, Bereano continued to work under the contract for several months before altering it.

Bereano has lobbied Maryland lawmakers for 25 years and was one of the best-known players in Annapolis before he was convicted in connection with illegal campaign contributions.

State Ethics Commission records list Bereano as one of the 10 highest-earning lobbyists in Annapolis, collecting nearly $600,000 in the 12 months that ended Oct. 31, 2005.

He has represented more than 50 clients this year, including a Baptist church and a coalition of professional tattooists and body piercers.