Former Del. Impallaria gets probation before judgment for misconduct, theft

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As part of a guilty plea agreement with state prosecutors, former Republican state Del. Richard “Rick” Impallaria has received a probation before judgment sentence for misdemeanor charges of misusing taxpayers’ money to pay tens of thousands of dollars in personal rent.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Stacy McCormack on Wednesday sentenced Impallaria, 60, to three years of unsupervised probation.

Also as part of the agreement, Impallaria pleaded guilty in April to one count of illegal gun possession and received 18 months of unsupervised probation.

Investigators found two rifles while searching one of Impallaria’s properties, which he was barred from having because of a prior battery conviction.

State prosecutors dropped charges against Impallaria for stealing $2,400 from the General Assembly that was meant for office furnishings. He used it instead to pay for campaign mailers.

Impallaria, a Republican who represented Baltimore and Harford counties for 20 years, has cut a check for the $44,100 in personal rent that taxpayers fronted and completed 100 hours of community service as part of the agreement with prosecutors.

The money Impallaria repaid will go into a general House of Delegates budget account.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Adrienne Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat, said in a statement that Jones “is pleased that this money has been returned to the taxpayers.”

“Upholding the public’s trust is the most sacred duty that an elected official has, and the speaker is satisfied to see that the justice system has worked in the best interests of taxpayers,” the spokesperson said.

Impallaria’s attorney, Steven Silverman, could not be reached for comment by phone Thursday.

Deputy State Prosecutor Sarah David declined to comment on the case.

Between 2012 and 2022, taxpayers paid $92,800 in rent meant for a property on Punte Lane in Essex that Impallaria indicated was his district office.

The cottage, located outside his district, was being used to store bedroom furniture, folding beds, pellet rifles and ammunition, clothing, building supplies, campaign materials, skis and coolers, charging documents state.

State prosecutors alleged that Impallaria didn’t pay any money in rent for his cottage next door during that time.

One of Impallaria’s longtime legislative aides and her family also owned the two properties.

State lawmakers can receive an allowance for maintaining their district office and paying for supplies, furniture and equipment. They cannot, however, use their allowance for personal expenses.

Prosecutors alleged that Impallaria used his allowance to pay between $700 and $800 in monthly rent for the Punte Lane properties over the course of a decade.

The rent payments that Impallaria received an allowance for were more than double what the other tenants on the street were paying, charging documents state.

With new legislative district lines following the 2020 U.S. Census, Impallaria’s district changed and he lost the 2022 Republican primary to represent Harford County to Del. Lauren Arikan.

Later that month, Impallaria was charged with three counts of misconduct in office, two counts of theft and two counts of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary. He pleaded guilty in January.