The Verdict: "Bye-Bye, Marvin"

Maryland's Mandel is found guilty of fraud and racketeering

"I have no home," said Maryland's Democratic Governor Marvin Mandel. "I have no place to go." That statement was not strictly accurate--Mandel continues to live in the 54-room Governor's mansion in Annapolis--but in a month or so, he will face a serious problem indeed. Last week Mandel, 57, became the first American Governor in 43 years to be convicted of a crime while in office.* Barring a successful appeal, he will have to move out of the mansion and leave office by Oct. 7, the date set for his sentencing (the maximum possible punishment: 105 years in prison and a fine of $42,000) on 17 counts of mail fraud and one count of racketeering.

The prosecution grew out of the same federal effort to clean up Maryland politics that drove Spiro Agnew, Mandel's predecessor as Governor, from the vice presidency. A total of seven Maryland officials have been convicted in federal prosecutions since 1973. In early August, former Congressman Edward A. Garmatz was indicted for bribe taking; Mandel's trial, ironically enough, was held in downtown Baltimore's new Edward A. Garmatz Federal Court Building.

The specific charges against Mandel arose from the secret purchase in 1971 of Maryland's Marlboro race track by four of his friends, who were convicted, along with Mandel, on similar charges last week: W. Dale Hess, former Democratic leader of the state's house of delegates; Hess's business partners, Harry and Bill Rodgers; and Irvin Kovens, allegedly the principal financier of the race-track purchase. Also found guilty was Attorney Ernest N. Cory Jr., who did legal work for the group. In 1972, at Mandel's urging, Maryland's state legislature granted an extra 18 racing days to the track, thereby increasing its profitability.

Mandel received approximately $350,000 in favors from his race-track cronies--including jewelry, clothing, plane tickets and shares in business ventures. During six grueling days of testimony, he insisted that these were merely innocent gifts, but the jurors were not convinced. After their verdict was announced--following an unusually lengthy deliberation of 13 days--jurors said that the vote was initially 9 to 3 against Mandel, became 11 to 1 and stayed there for six days. The lone holdout told newsmen afterward that he believed the parties were innocent as a matter of conscience, if not as a matter of law. The majority's view was expressed by Juror William H. Mann: "I don't care how good friends all of them were, you don't do all those favors without getting something in return."

The greatest portion of the largesse Mandel received was used for the expensive divorce settlement--including some $100,000 in cash--that enabled him to shed Barbara ("Bootsie") Mandel, his wife of 32 years, and wed attractive, blonde Jeanne Dorsey. Last week Bootsie reflected sadly: "The world was ours. I got the best years of Marvin Mandel, and she [Jeanne] got what's left." The Baltimore crowd that awaited Mandel after the verdict was announced was less sympathetic. "Bye-bye, Marvin!" shouted hecklers.

*North Dakota's Republican Governor William Langer was removed from office in 1934, following conviction for soliciting political contributions from federal employees. The conviction was overturned in 1935. In 1924 Indiana's Republican Governor Warren McCray received a ten-year prison sentence for misuse of the mails in his personal financial transactions; he was pardoned by President Hoover after serving three years.

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