Lead Story
Voter decisions: Friendsville, Maryland, mayor Spencer Schlosnagle was returned to office in February, though he’d been convicted a week before of indecent exposure and had four other such charges pending. Hialeah, Florida, voters elected Raul Martinez mayor in November, though he was awaiting sentencing on federal extortion charges; in 1971 Hialeah voted in as mayor a recently convicted felon. And Baldwin, Georgia, voters returned ex-mayor Tommy Lee Barrett to office in November, though in 1991 he’d faced theft and forgery charges and under a plea bargain was forced to resign and to promise never to run for mayor again.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Cliches Come to Life
Raleigh, North Carolina, bankruptcy lawyer Mark Kirby was indicted on federal fraud charges in December. According to a prosecutor, while Kirby was working for the Brown, Kirby & Bunch law firm in 1990 and 1991, he billed clients an average of nearly 1,200 hours a month–from a low of 851 hours to a high of 1,547. (A 31-day month has only 744 hours.)
