Federal Jury Acquits Maryland State Senator

[The Northerner]

A federal jury acquitted a prominent Maryland state senator on Tuesday of corruption charges alleging he accepted more than $245,000 to advocate for a grocery store chain while he was chairman of a powerful budget committee.

Ulysses Currie, a 74-year-old Democrat from the Washington suburbs of Prince George's County, was cleared of all charges of conspiracy, bribery, extortion and making false statements.

Former Shoppers Food Warehouse president William J. White and former vice president R. Kevin Small were also acquitted of their related charges.

After the verdict was read, Currie praised the legal teams of all three men for working together.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-jury-acquits-maryland-state-senator-14909209

[saras]

1. Marginally helpful article

It's a part-time legislature. He had a business. Most of them do. What's missing is how normal his business relationships were in comparison to other legislators, though the acquittal seems to imply that they were normal, which is what his lawyer argued.