If you’ve been under a rock this afternoon – Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon tendered her resignation effective February 4. The resignation is part of a plea agreement with the State Prosecutor’s Office. Dixon, a Democrat, was found guilty by a jury on embezzlement charges late last year and her attorneys were asking for a retrial. She faced perjury charges on related matters. This plea agreement wraps up both sets of charges.

As a refresher, Dixon originally faced charges for perjury and theft related to gift cards intended for city charities that she was alleged to have used for personal gain.

Dixon was technically not convicted under Maryland law when she was found guilty – that wouldn’t happen until final sentencing. This allowed her to stay in office and not step aside after the verdict. It also allowed her to cut a deal using Probation before Judgement (PBJ.) She was able to use PBJ for both the embezzlement trial with the guilty verdict as well as for the perjury charges. The perjury trial had been scheduled for the spring. She entered an Alford plea for those charges, which does not constitute an admission of guilt.

Dixon will have to give $45K to the Bea Gaddy Foundation. Her furs and electronics purchased with the gift cards will be auctioned and the proceeds will be given to YouthWorks. She can’t run for office while on probation for 2 years so that rules out 2011. She will also have to perform 500 hours of community service. Her plea deal also prevents her from seeking taxpayer reimbursement for her legal fees.

The quick summary: Dixon will be paid $83K a year for her pension and will have no criminal record since she technically has not been convicted of anything. The charges can be expunged later and she can run for office at some point in the future.

There seems to be a perception among some citizens that Dixon got away with one and basically walked aeway with a slap on the wrist. Some of her defenders have heaped scorn on State Prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh for the prosecution and opining that a retrial and the perjury trial would have cost too much so the state should have taken the deal (her attorneys asked for a plea deal.) Dixon is 56. Her $83,00 a year pension that she got to hang onto since she technically wasn’t convicted could cost the taxpayers of the city a large amount of money as well, depending on how long she lives.
In a press conference this afternoon, Dixon was “defiant” and “unapologetic” according to members of the media and from my vantage point I would agree with them.

It will be interesting to see if she attempts to make a political comeback, a la Marion Barry, around 2015 or so.