Former County Councilman Who Pleaded No Contest In Theft Sues To Regain Seat

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The former Harford County councilman who pleaded no contest to theft charges stemming from more than $23,000 missing from a union he led for more than 50 years has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn his court action.

Nearly two weeks after stating in court that he was taking responsibility for the theft, Dion Guthrie, 86, has filed a lawsuit in Harford County Circuit Court arguing he did not plead no contest to theft of money from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1501.

Prosecutors said Guthrie stole from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1501, which is based in Cockeysville. He served the union for almost 52 years as president and business manager.

According to The Baltimore Banner, Guthrie has claimed he couldn't plead no contest without the consent of the court and the judge said he was striking the no contest plea before placing him on probation before judgment.

While Guthrie did not admit guilt, his plea acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to get a conviction. He agreed to pay almost $23,500 in restitution.

According to a WBAL-TV report, Guthrie has been accused of using the union's American Express card to cover $15,000 worth of personal expenses and taking more than $8,300 from the union's health and welfare fund.

The Office of Labor-Management Standards discovered that Guthrie misappropriated more than $60,500, which including making 179 purchases on a union credit card at businesses including Spirit Airlines, Burlington and Amazon Music, The Baltimore Banner reported previously. He admitted some of those charges were for personal use, according to an investigative report, Patch reported previously.

Guthrie is contesting his plea in the case because he had been removed from the Harford County Council because of the plea deal. He's seeking a declaratory judgment stating that he still is a member of the County Council, as well as an injunction to stop Council President Pat Vincenti, a Republican, from taking any additional steps to "interfere with the performance of his job duties."

Guthrie’s defense attorney, Domenic Iamele, told The Baltimore Banner that his client denied the accusations but did not have the resilience to dispute them at trial.

The Maryland Constitution states that elected officials who plead guilty or no contest to felonies or certain misdemeanors “shall be removed from the elective office by operation of law and the office shall be deemed vacant.”

A statement released by Guthrie said there was no reason why he should have been removed from the Council.

"Instead, I will continue my decades of faithful and effective service to District A and the 43,000 citizens who look to me as their voice on the Council,” Guthrie said. “With the budget and comprehensive zoning processes under way, along with other pressing issues that affect Harford County, I plan to do what I have always done — roll up my sleeves and get to work for the people of Joppatowne and Edgewood.”

Harford County Circuit Judge Yolanda L. Curtin has ordered Guthrie to file a complete transcript of the hearing, as well as a response no later than noon on Tuesday.