Delegate Impallaria Charged With Embezzlement, Felony Theft

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A Maryland state delegate who represents parts of Harford and Baltimore counties has been charged with embezzlement and other offenses, according to the state prosecutor.

Del. Richard “Rick” Impallaria faces multiple counts of misconduct in office, embezzlement and theft, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Impallaria facilitated the payment of $92,800 from the state of Maryland to his landlord so he could rent an “office” outside his district from July 2012 through May 2022, according to prosecutors. The office was on Punte Lane in Essex, according to the state prosecutor.

The “district office” was a cottage next to another cottage Impallaria had also rented through the same landlords for 10 years, according to prosecutors.

When the state began paying for the “district office,” which stored Impallaria’s personal items, prosecutors said he stopped paying rent to the landlords altogether. Ledgers from the landlords show they split the payments from the state to cover both the office cottage and Impallaria's personal cottage.

Lawmakers may receive reimbursement for district offices, including rent, only if they are in their district, prosecutors said, citing state guidelines.

Impallaria has been a member of the House of Delegates since January 2003, representing the 7th District. Prosecutors said his district included the Essex address until February 2012, when the district was redrawn, at which point the cottage could not qualify for reimbursement.

Impallaria also owned a house on Singer Road in Joppa until August 2021, state property records show.

In addition to using state funds for the "district office," prosecutors allege Impallaria used state funds to cover some of his campaign costs.

He created a fake invoice for $2,405.30 in office furniture that he never ordered, using the funds instead to go toward fundraising letters on behalf of his campaign, Friends of Rick Impallaria, prosecutors said.

“Elected officials are expected to be good stewards of the State’s resources,” State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard said in a statement Wednesday. “Any official who abuses the public trust for personal gain must be held accountable.”

This is not the first legal trouble the delegate has faced in office.

Impallaria was cited for driving while impaired in 2016, for which he was sentenced to two days in jail, and was questioned regarding use of his legislative phone line for campaign calls in March 2012.

He has been a member of the House of Delegates since January 2003.

See Also:

• Maryland Delegate Cited for Allegedly Driving While Impaired
• Impallaria Staff Make Congressional Calls From State Phon