A Md. state lobbyist released from federal custody two weeks ago after serving a sentence for a felony fraud conviction is wasting little time in returning to work. Gerard E. Evans said May 25 that he has registered with the Md. State Ethics Comm'n to represent five clients in Annapolis and expects to sign up several more soon. His clients include the Baltimore chapters of the state's largest police union, plus Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos, the Prince George's County and groups of Md. horse trainers and horse breeders.
Evans was convicted in 2000 of fraud for scheming to win lobbying fees from out-of-town companies by misrepresenting or exaggerating the threat of legislation that would have hurt the companies. He was sentenced to thirty months in federal prison, but was transferred to a halfway house in Washington after less than a year in custody in Cumberland, Md. His sentence was reduced by a year when he agreed to complete a drug and alcohol abuse program, and he was released from custody May 10.
