The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page B5

THE SUN MARYLAND THURSDAY 03.15.2007 5B CAPITAL NOTEBOOK Mnnnmi rrofc all fWim a rl i a I O'Malley to name iiiuui 1 1 win lui uiiiui Brenner to PSC Keeler urges state senator to vote today for repeal of the death penalty Episcopal church leader from his hometown and also dined for three hours Tuesday evening in Bowie with former Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, a one-time seminarian who opposes capital punishment. Mooney also has perused books and articles for guidance.

The latest piece was by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a Catholic who supports the death penalty. "He came down in favor of the death penalty," Mooney said of Scalia. "I'd like to run that by the cardinal." In 2005, Keeler visited death row inmate Wesley Eugene Baker and urged then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

to commute his death sentence. Ehrlich declined to intervene, and Baker was executed. An archdiocese spokesman could not be reached yesterday about Keeler's call to the senator. The ll-member Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee is scheduled to vote today on the bill, and Mooney appears to be the swing vote. He said he expects to introduce three amendments that would make exceptions for terrorists, cop killers and in cases when a prisoner kills again behind bars.

Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat and the repeal's sponsor, told The Sun this week that she would rather withdraw the bill than accept amendments. Mooney shrugged that off yesterday, noting that other committee members might be open to his suggestions. Mooney said his talk with Keeler was "great," adding, "He just tried to explain to me his position, asked me to vote for the Mooney, a father of two, said he is aware of where the church stands on the issue.

He said yesterday that he was trying to be open-minded but that he hadn't yet decided. "I wish I didn't have to vote tomorrow," Mooney said. "I wish I had more time." jennifer.skalkabaltsun.com BY JENNIFER SKALKA SUN REPORTER Sen. Alex X. Mooney fielded a surprise call this week from Cardinal William H.

Keeler, who urged the Frederick Republican to vote today for a repeal of the death penalty. Their five-minute chat, though notable because of the caller's position as archbishop of Baltimore, is one of many conversations Mooney has had as he considers his position on a bill to get rid of the state's capital punishment law. The conservative Catholic talked recently with an African Methodist House GOP effort to cut budget falls short Lawrence Brenner, deputy chief administrative law judge with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, will fill a vacant seat on the state Public Service Commission, a source close to Gov. Martin O'Malley said last night. Brenner, who has worked for the U.S.

Department of Labor and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will be the new Democratic governor's third appointee to the five-member board replacing Charles R. Boutin, a former Republican legislator who had been named to the PSC by O'Malley's predecessor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Boutin, whose resignation took effect a week ago, was among the PSC members sharply criticized by Democrats for the panel's handling of a BGE rate increase last year an issue that became a major theme of O'Malley's election campaign.

Brenner, a resident of Boyds in Montgomery County, holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Brooklyn College and a law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. JENNIFER SKALKA Few senators at sex bill hearing Though a proposal to tighten the state's sex offender laws for a second year has broad support in the state Senate, it received scant attention yesterday from members of the chamber's Judicial Proceedings Committee. Committee Chairman Brian E. Frosh pushed a hearing on the legislation to the end of a 13-bill agenda, including a measure that would outlaw the chaining of dogs ouside. The hearing began about 6 p.m., five hours after the committee began its session, angering several advocates who had traveled across the country to testify.

Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat, and several other committee members did not attend the hearing. Many advocates began their testimony yesterday with complaints. "This is a unique experience for me to wait five hours to speak to three people," said Marc Klaas, who flew in from California, where his 12-year-old daughter, Polly, had been kidnapped and murdered by a sex offender on parole. The bill provides that any adult convicted of a rape or sex offense in the first, second, or third degree against a victim under the age of 13 is not eligible for parole while serving a mandatory minimum sentence for the offense. First-degree rapes and sex offenses, the most severe, have a 25-year minimum, and second-degree offenses are punishable with a minimum five-year term.

The bill, sponsored by Harford County Republican Sen. Nancy Jacobs, also would impose a mandatory minimum sentence of two years without parole for third-degree sex offenses against someone under the age of 13. Jacobs was unable to attend the hearing because of a family medical emergency. The bill has 24 co-sponsors representing a majority of the 47-member Senate. MELISSA HARRIS Wiretapping on school buses? School bus drivers would be able to record students' conversations under a General Assembly proposal that would carve out an exception to the state's wiretapping law for education-related transportation.

Wiretapping laws currently prohibit audio recordings on school buses without passengers' consent. Video cameras already monitor students to capture fights and inappropriate behavior. But several bus drivers told a Senate committee yesterday that the cameras are not enough to corroborate or refute students' or parents' complaints, or determine who initiated a dispute. "Without audio, we can't prove what students are saying to drivers," Barbara Bayer, manager of Woodlawn Motor Coach told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. "Even though the equipment is expensive, it's needed." Sen.

Norman R. Stone a Baltimore County Democrat, is the sponsor of the Senate bill. Eight delegates are sponsoring the House version of the measure. MELISSA HARRIS 1 i HIkIKIIh Sen. Rona E.

Kramer (left) and Sen. Lisa A. Gladden debate the "get" bill, which requires that Orthodox Jewish women seeking a divorce also be granted the religious decree that ends the marriage. KIM HAIRSTON SUN PHOTOGRAPHER Senate advances divorce bill Religious decree would be required for Orthodox Jewish women ery County Democrat, warned that the state should not be legislating religious doctrine. She said the bill would violate the divide between church and state.

Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore County Democrat and the bill's sponsor, said the bill promotes equality for women who are divorcing and prevents Orthodox Jewish men from angling for extended property rights or monetary benefits. "In the case where men are often extorting women and this is a tragedy that I'm seeing in my own community and those women need the help of our government," she said. "And this is not about religion; this is about fairness." Kramer disagreed.

"How can it not be about religion when the reason that they're coming to us for assistance, to the state of Maryland, is not because the state of Maryland will not give them a divorce?" Kramer said. "It's not because our courts of equity will not treat them fairly. It is because of their religion. It is their religious belief that doesn't allow them to remarry." The Senate gave its initial approval, 35-10. A final vote is expected this week.

Gladden and Kramer joked during the conversation about the irony of their positions. "Can these women remarry as Jews at all?" Kramer, who is a Conservative Jew, asked the sponsor. "Wow, the Southern Baptist is going to answer the question on Jewish law, and I will," Gladden replied. She went on to explain that there are three key communities within the Jewish faith and that Orthodox Jews, the most strictly observant, are affected by the get. Under Jewish law, an Orthodox remarriage will not be sanctioned without the get.

Kramer interrupted Gladden's lesson on faith. "You're doing it well," Kramer said. Gladden's answer prompted her colleagues of all faiths to chuckle. "Amen," she said. jennifer.skalkabaltsun.com BY JENNIFER SKALKA SUN REPORTER After a spirited debate about the separation of church and state yesterday, the Maryland Senate moved a step closer to passing a bill to require that Orthodox Jewish women seeking a divorce also be granted a get, the religious decree that ends the marriage.

Some men hold the get over their wives in exchange for custody agreements or visitation schedules. Without it, a woman is not allowed to remarry within the faith. The legislative proposal would require those filing for divorce or not contesting one to file an affidavit stating that they would not mount a religious opposition to remarriage. The Senate exchange, largely conducted between the Southern Baptist bill sponsor and a Jewish senator who opposes the measure, explored whether it is appropriate for the state to intervene in a religious contract. Sen.

Rona E. Kramer, a Montgom BY ANDREW A. GREEN SUN REPORTER House Republicans failed in an effort to force deep cuts in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed budget yesterday, a move they said was necessary to prevent tax increases next year but one that Democrats said would diminish public safety and hinder education. With annual gaps of more than $1 billion between spending and revenue expected in the next few years, Republicans proposed cutting all new spending from O'Malley's $30 billion budget, a reduction of $800 million.

"If we begin to deal with the deficit issue this year, it's manageable," said Del. Gail H. Bates, a Howard County Republican who serves on the House Appropriations Committee. "If we wait and do nothing this year and that additional spending is in place, next year we're talking serious cuts." Republicans were outvoted by Democrats joined by several GOP delegates who backed a package of about $148 million in cuts that would allow the state to freeze tuition at universities, continue a record expansion of public education spending and increase stem cell research funding. Del.

Norman H. Conway, an Eastern Shore Democrat who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said the Republicans' plan was "not a realistic option." Much of the new spending in the budget is required and would require further legislation to undo. Furthermore, the new spending Republicans want to cut would go toward important public priorities, he said. "It has constantly been the objective of the appropriations committee to bring forth a budget that is both fiscally prudent and socially responsible," Conway said. "This budget meets both objectives." The amendment failed, 110-29.

Eight Republicans and all Democrats voted to reject it. The largest increase in the budget that would have been affected by the Republicans' plan was the final phase of Maryland's landmark education funding initiative, called the Thornton plan. The Republicans' amendment would have left cost-of-living and other pay increases for state workers and $5 million for new prison guards in the budget but eliminated all other new spending. Del. William J.

Frank, a Baltimore County Republican who voted for the cuts, said he doesn't object to the Thornton funding, which he and most other Republicans voted for in the past several budgets. But the current situation requires strong measures, he said. "We want to fund it," Frank said. "But we can't afford it this year, so let's phase it in next year." Democrats acknowledged the fiscal problems facing the state but said O'Malley deserves time to find savings in government and craft a comprehensive solution to the problem, known as the state's structural deficit. "Next year is going to be a challenge," Conway said.

andy.greenbaltsun.com Plea-bargaining fails in federal court 1999. The investigator on the case eventually retired and passed the case to another A third attempt to match finger-print records paid off with records recently entered from World War II-era soldiers. Watkins had served in the Army during that period. Working with Social Security officials, detectives learned that, starting four months after his death, Watkins' benefits checks had been sent to Siegel's address in Columbia. In August 2003, Loudoun County detectives and federal agents confronted Siegel at the Ellicott City post office.

"Nancy, this charade that you have created for yourself is over. We know where Jack is. You know where Jack is. This house of cards that was standing for you has collapsed," FBI Special Agent Jon Moeller told her. A look of surprise crossed her face, investigators noted.

But they said she quickly diverted her attention to the baby in her care. "Just don't take my grandson. I'll tell you what happened," she said. Prosecutors said she never did. matthew.dolanbaltsun.com From Page IB cutors say.

The U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore alleged that the killing of Watkins was cunning and brutal, the result of a two-decades-long scheme to bilk friends and husbands Siegel has had at least three out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Justice Department considered but eventually rejected seeking the death penalty against Siegel on the murder conspiracy charge. Wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit yesterday, Siegel, 58, wanted to plead guilty to theft, including forging Watkins' name on about $7,000 worth of Social Security checks after his death in order to cash them, her lawyers said. She has been incarcerated for more than three years awaiting trial.

Defense attorney Andrew Levy worried that if Siegel pleaded guilty to several charges related to theft and fraud, federal prosecutors would then attempt to hold her responsible for what they call a 20-year scheme of defrauding husbands, paramours and friends that ended in the killing of Watkins. "She denies any complicity in the death of Jack Watkins," Levy said. Calling Siegel's attempt at a partial guilty plea "gamesmanship," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Manuelian and Tamera Fine alleged in court papers that Siegel began by forcing her first husband into a debt of $100,000 by using his name and Social Security number without his knowledge. This continued with her second husband, Ted Giesendaffer, who also suffered a substantial loss at her hands, the prosecutors said.

The fraud extended to friends, prosecutors alleged. John and Linda Mayberry provided a down payment for Siegel to buy a car, prosecutors said. When Siegel defaulted, John Mayberry learned that his friend had also used his personal information from the loan to obtain credit in his name, prosecutors said. Prosecutors also allege that Siegel persuaded Jack Butcher to take out a $3,000 loan and give the money to her. Siegel tried to default on the loan, but Butcher threatened to go to the police, they allege.

Butcher acted too late, according to a federal indictment, because Siegel had used Butcher's personal information to obtain other credit in his name without his knowledge. In 1994, Siegel befriended Jasper Frederick Watkins, known as Jack, prosecutors say. She "sought to restrict Watkins' contact with his family and friends, including intercepting messages on his telephone answering machine," the indictment alleges. In addition to conspiracy to commit murder, she is charged with stealing more than $100,000 by the time Watkins' assets had run out. With Watkins' house, belongings and good credit gone, prosecutors say, Siegel, after gaining access to his accounts, rerouted mail from his address to hers.

She is also accused of persuading him to mortgage his home on Sungold Road in Reisterstown, then taking the profits. Prosecutors also allege that Siegel tried to have Watkins committed to a hospital for dementia by misinforming medical personnel assessing his condition, prosecutors say. In May 1996, Watkins threatened to leave her and tell police what had happened, according to court papers. Shortly after, he was killed, prosecutors say. Watkins' body was found in the steamer trunk May 13, 1996.

According to the court papers, Siegel admitted dumping Watkins' body in Virginia but told family members that she had found him dead in Maryland with a rope around his neck. After the body was discovered, investigators learned that it contained high levels of a sedative. Because the remains seemed to be that of an older person, sheriffs investigators guessed that he might have served in uniform and approached the military. A search of military fingerprint records in 1996 turned up nothing, as did a subsequent one in.