MARYLAND BRIEFING

The women, mostly illegal immigrants, operated from apartments and houses in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Langley Park and Wheaton, authorities said. The Aparicio family members would pick the women up in New York and New Jersey and drive them to Maryland to work as prostitutes for a week at a time, officials said.

Olinda Aparicio pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to transport women for prostitution purposes. The other family members have also pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the case and await sentencing, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for Maryland.

-- Steve Vogel

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Leggett Fills Department Positions

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett's administration continued to take shape yesterday as he nominated four more department heads.

Leggett (D) tapped Uma S. Ahluwalia, the interim director of the District's Child and Family Services Agency, to lead the $239 million department of Health and Human Services. Ahluwalia was acting chief of staff to then-Maryland governor Parris N. Glendening from 2001 to 2003. She would be paid an annual salary of $190,000.

Richard Y. Nelson Jr., the retired executive director of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, is Leggett's choice for the top job at the Department of Housing and Community Affairs. For the past three years, Nelson has been the chairman of the county's Housing Opportunities Commission. He would be paid $185,000.

Leggett selected Carla Reid Joyner to lead the department of Permitting Services, which issues permits for activities such as digging wells and building houses. Joyner has worked for two decades at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, at which she was most recently interim general manager and deputy general manager. She would be paid $175,000.

David E. Dise is Leggett's pick to oversee the county's procurement office. Dise has been deputy director of purchasing and supply management for Fairfax County and before that was procurement manager for the Fairfax County Water Authority. He would be paid $170,000.

The nominees need County Council confirmation.