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In Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Richard K. Impallaria, Maryland State Delegate representing District 7, was charged with multiple counts of misconduct in office, felony theft, and embezzlement, prosecutors announced on Wednesday, July 27.
It is alleged that Impallaria facilitated rental payments from the General Assembly to his personal landlord by using state funding for a “district office” that was actually a building outside of his district.
The building was used to store Impallaria's personal items, according to prosecutors, and it was next door to his own personal cottage, which shared the same landlords, who received, on average, double the amount of rent for his “district office" than any other buildings in the area.
During the same month the General Assembly began paying rent on the office, and after 10 years of monthly rent payments, Impallaria allegedly then stopped paying rent on the cottage, which he maintained.
In total, between July 2012 and the end of May 2022, the state paid $92,800 in rent for the "district office,” while paying $0 in rent for the cottage.
It is further alleged that Impallaria facilitated the creation of an invoice with a purported office supply vendor to purchase office furniture that was never actually ordered, according to the State Prosecutor’s Office.
Impallaria paid the full amount of the invoice, creating a credit of more than $2.4 million with the vendor for items that were never ordered, Howard said. Instead, Impallaria sought and received full reimbursement from the General Assembly by using public funds for those items neither ordered nor received.
“Elected officials are expected to be good stewards of the State’s resources," Howard said. “Any official who abuses the public trust for personal gain must be held accountable.”
Charging documents can be found here.
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