Senator Used Letterhead in Grocery Talks

Newly released documents show that Maryland state Sen. Ulysses Currie, under investigation because of work as a consultant for a grocery store chain, used his official legislative stationery to keep the chief executive of the company updated about a project.

In a 2003 letter, Currie (D-Prince George's) told Bill White, then the chief executive of Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, that he had spoken to a top aide to then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) about the redevelopment of a mall in Baltimore where Shoppers was hoping to open a store.

Currie did not mention his work for the Lanham-based company on state financial disclosure forms. According to court documents, Currie began working for the company in early 2003 and was paid more than $207,000 between then and 2007.

"I have spoken to Chip DiPaula and he is working with Mondawmin Mall," Currie wrote in the letter to White. "He is working with Rouse [the mall's owner] but needs a little more time -- 2 to 3 weeks."

Chip DiPaula Jr., who managed Ehrlich's gubernatorial campaign, was then state secretary of budget and management. Discussions were underway about renovating the 50-year-old mall, including attracting a Shoppers store.

In 2005, DiPaula became Ehrlich's chief of staff.

The letter is one of thousands of pages of documents from Currie's legislative office in Annapolis and the office of the Budget and Taxation Committee, chaired by Currie, that have been turned over to prosecutors in response to a subpoena. It was released yesterday under Maryland's Public Information Act.

The records show that Currie stored several documents related to Shoppers in his Senate offices. According to an affidavit filed in support of a May search of Currie's home, the FBI is investigating whether Currie used his official position to benefit Shoppers.

Dale Kelberman, an attorney for Currie, declined to comment. Phone calls to DiPaula and Ehrlich spokesmen Henry Fawell and Greg Massoni were not returned.

White has declined to answer questions about the Currie investigation several times, referring them to his attorney, John Treem. Treem did not return a phone call yesterday.

In the letter to White, Currie also thanked him for recent donations to Johns Hopkins and Head Start. A retired educator, Currie, 70, once ran the Head Start program in Prince George's.