41 Facts About Catherine Pugh

Catherine Pugh resigned from office amid a scandal that eventually led to criminal charges, three years in prison, and three years probation in 2020.

Catherine Pugh subsequently held office in the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate, serving as the Majority Leader from 2015 to 2016.

Catherine Pugh ran for mayor of Baltimore in 2016 and won the primary against former mayor Sheila Dixon.

In 2019, Catherine Pugh was accused of involvement in a scandal over a "self-dealing" arrangement in which organizations purchased large quantities of Catherine Pugh's books in exchange for contracts with the city.

On May 2,2019, Catherine Pugh resigned as mayor amid the book scandal and on November 20,2019, she was indicted by a grand jury on eleven counts, including tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy in connection with the book transactions.

Catherine Pugh served two years in federal prison before being released on probation in to a Baltimore halfway house.

Catherine Pugh was born as Catherine Crump on March 10,1950, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the second of seven children born to James and Addie Crump.

Catherine Pugh was raised in Philadelphia with her seven siblings and graduated from Overbrook High School in 1967.

Catherine Pugh attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science.

Catherine Pugh is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Catherine Pugh got her start in government in 1975 when she joined the administration of Mayor William Donald Schaefer as the director of the Citizen's Involvement Program.

In 1977, Catherine Pugh began teaching Marketing and Introduction to Business at Morgan State University.

In 1988, Catherine Pugh founded a public relations firm, Catherine Pugh and Company.

In 1999 Catherine Pugh was elected to the Baltimore City Council, where she served until 2004.

Catherine Pugh then won a seat in the State Senate for the same district and served there from January 10,2007, to December 6,2016.

Catherine Pugh ran unopposed in the 2010 and 2014 Senate elections.

Catherine Pugh was the president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators from 2015 to 2016.

Catherine Pugh was chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the Women's Caucus of Legislators in Maryland from 2005 to 2007.

Catherine Pugh is responsible for diversifying the state's $40 billion pension portfolio, having led the passage of Senate Bill 606, which increased black and other minority managed dollars from $300 million to $4.2 billion.

Catherine Pugh passed legislation allowing Baltimore City to offer $2,500 in property tax relief to public safety officers who work and own a home in Baltimore City.

In 2015, Catherine Pugh entered the race for mayor of Baltimore and launched her campaign headquarters in the city.

The Democratic primary has long been the real contest in Baltimore, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 10-to-1, so Catherine Pugh was overwhelmingly favored in the general election.

Catherine Pugh prioritized the United States Department of Justice investigation into the Baltimore Police Department following the death of Freddie Gray, before the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump.

Additional issues the Catherine Pugh administration faced included Baltimore's crime levels, vacant housing and revitalization development, and the cancellation of the Baltimore Red Line and launch of Governor Larry Hogan's BaltimoreLink bus system overhaul.

In May 2018, Catherine Pugh established a $55 million fund to boost investment in struggling city neighborhoods, financed by leasing city-owned garages called the Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund.

In 2019, Catherine Pugh was involved in a scheme in which several organizations purchased large quantities of her children books in exchange for contracts with the city.

In March 2019, Catherine Pugh agreed to accept $500,000 from the University of Maryland Medical System while serving as a trustee to purchase her Healthy Holly self-published books to donate to Baltimore schoolchildren.

Catherine Pugh did not disclose the payments or recuse herself from votes and decisions involving the medical system.

Catherine Pugh received $500,000 from the University of Maryland Medical System for 100,000 copies of her books.

Catherine Pugh initially said that the payments from the University of Maryland Medical System were her only book sales, but on April 1,2019, the Baltimore Sun reported that Kaiser Permanente paid more than $100,000 for copies of the book, and a nonprofit called Associated Black Charities paid Catherine Pugh's organization nearly $80,000 for copies of the book.

Catherine Pugh maintained that she intended to return to office following her leave of absence.

On May 2,2019, Catherine Pugh resigned as Mayor of Baltimore.

On February 27,2020, Catherine Pugh was sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by three years of probation.

US District Judge Deborah K Chasanow ordered Pugh to pay $412,000 in restitution.

Additionally, Catherine Pugh will forfeit nearly $670,000, including her Ashburton home and the remaining balance of her campaign account totaling $17,800.

Catherine Pugh has agreed that all copies of Healthy Holly in government custody will be destroyed.

Catherine Pugh was granted several extensions to delay the start of her prison sentence.

On June 26,2020, Catherine Pugh reported to prison at Federal Correctional Institution, Aliceville, Alabama.

Catherine Pugh was released from prison around the beginning of January 2022 and transferred to a Baltimore halfway house.

Catherine Pugh married her husband Phillip in 1973, and they divorced two years later; she has no children.

Catherine Pugh is the founder of several Baltimore community programs, such as the Fish Out of Water Project, an initiative that promotes tourism in Baltimore City to raise money for arts programs for local youth and the Need to Read Campaign, a program designed to help Baltimore residents improve their reading skills.