The Comish

“Norris enters plea of guilty to corruption
Ex-police commissioner of Baltimore also admits lying on federal tax return; Sentence could be year in prison; Tapped department fund for gifts to women, trips, liquor, restaurant meals

Misappropriated police funds fueled Norris' lavish lifestyle
Investigation tracked checks, receipts to reveal ex-official's corruption
Mar 9, 2004


Norris' life of privilege ends with plea in court

By Gail Gibson and Del Quentin Wilber
Sun Staff

Four years after he swept into Baltimore with a zero-tolerance plan for fighting crime and a blunt charm that helped defuse his critics, Edward T. Norris ended his run as one of Maryland's most visible law enforcement figures with a guilty plea yesterday to federal corruption and tax charges.

Norris, 43, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to conspiring to misuse money from a supplemental city police fund and lying on tax returns.

The former city police commissioner and Maryland state police superintendent is now a convicted felon and could face up to a year in prison at sentencing, scheduled for June 21.

His attorneys are expected to ask that he receive a sentence of probation or home detention.

The federal charges against Norris grew from an off-the-books police expense account, which court records show Norris used to pay for extramarital encounters with several women and to satisfy an apparent taste for the good life.

His extravagant splurges included shopping trips to Coach and Nordstrom, outings with friends at pricey hotel bars, and steak dinners at Smith & Wollensky in New York and Flemings in the Inner Harbor.”

“It's settled, Martha should be set free”