Former Md. Official Named to Rejuvenate Agency

Stephen M. Cordi, former deputy comptroller for Maryland, was tapped yesterday to lead the recovery of the troubled D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, whose management was removed two months ago in the wake of a massive embezzlement scandal.

D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi announced Cordi's appointment as tax office director, replacing Sherryl Hobbs Newman, who was ousted in November along with several top deputies.

Cordi retired from Maryland government in 2005 after a 31-year career and joined the Baltimore law firm of Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver. He will start his new job in the District on Jan. 22, Gandhi said.

Federal authorities have arrested 10 people, including two lower-level tax office workers, and charged them with a long-running conspiracy to rob District taxpayers of at least $20 million since 2001. A Washington Post analysis of city records has found $44.3 million in 160 suspicious property tax refund checks issued by the city since 1999.

Hobbs Newman and her deputies have not been implicated in the scheme, but Gandhi said he lost confidence in their leadership. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and other city leaders have stood by Gandhi, even though the federal authorities are investigating evidence that the scam could date to his tenure as director of the tax office in the late 1990s.

"There are few more capable of helping us rebuild the public trust," Gandhi said of Cordi in a statement. "I am completely confident that he understands the challenges ahead and that he has the background needed to bring best practice to every aspect of the District's tax administration."

Cordi did not return telephone calls left at his law office.

Gandhi had appointed interim managers to operate the tax office, including Sebastian "Ben" Lorigo as interim director. But Lorigo, who had been in charge of Gandhi's internal audit team before the transfer, resigned at the end of December.

Gandhi had been using a search firm to vet replacements for Hobbs Newman, but an aide said Cordi's name was suggested early on to Gandhi by an acquaintance. In addition to helping implement new internal controls to prevent fraud, Cordi will be tested quickly as the city's income tax collections ramp up in the next few months.

"We need to do all that is needed to restore any lost confidence in the District's tax system," Cordi said in a news release sent by Gandhi's office.

While with the Maryland comptroller's office, Cordi helped set up the Accenture integrated tax system, also used by the District. He litigated contested tax cases and helped in returns processing, taxpayer service, revenue accounting and case management, according to a biography released by Gandhi's office.

Cordi earned a bachelor's degree from Haverford College, a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a master's in liberal arts from Johns Hopkins University.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), who had named Cordi to his transition team after winning office in November 2006, said in a statement that Cordi "has a sterling reputation and is universally respected. I am confident he will bring the same high level of professionalism, skill and integrity to the District government."