COURT NEWS: Ivan Gonzalez had all the right moves to be elected Baltimore Mayor, first he committed perjury when filing his candidacy papers by lying about living in the city

BALTIMORE, MD. – in the city where most mayors either resign in disgrace or are carted off to jail sooner or later, the Maryland State Prosecutor has bagged a would-be mayor. In his lust be a top dog politician in the city that never stops being the first base on the political corruption circuit, Ivan Gonzalez traded in his job as a city policeman for his attempt at gaining the mayor’s office.

Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III announced August 20, 2021, that Ivan Gonzalez, a Baltimore police officer and a 2020 candidate for Baltimore City Mayor, pleaded guilty to perjury.

Detective Gonzalez blew his career and his job by lying about where he lived.

 Annual Salary            Overtime             Total Pay             Year

$81,045.00   $11,355.14           $92,400.14           FY 2020

According to the Statement of Facts in support of the plea, Gonzalez falsely asserted under penalties of perjury on candidacy forms that he met the residency requirement for Baltimore City Mayor, certifying that he lived in Baltimore City when in fact he lived in Baltimore County.

Gonzalez was sentenced by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn to probation before judgment with three years of probation.  As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Gonzalez agreed to resign from the Baltimore City Police Department.

 “The Office of the State Prosecutor is committed to ensuring the integrity of our electoral process and our public officials,” said Howard. “Mr. Gonzalez, at the time a sworn police officer, intentionally committed perjury by providing false information to establish his qualifications as a candidate for Mayor of Baltimore. His law enforcement career has ended and he has now been held accountable under the law.”

STATEMENT OF FACTS

In January of 2020, Ivan Gonzalez announced that he was running for Mayor of Baltimore City. State and local laws require that candidates for Mayor of Baltimore City meet certain residency requirements. Specifically, Baltimore City Code, Article IV § 1 provides that the mayor “shall be over 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the City for at least 1 year next preceding the election and during the term of office.” Md. Code Ann. Local Government §9-113 provides that candidates for the Mayor of Baltimore City must be a resident of the City for at least six months before the general election. Md. Code. Ann. Election Law §5-202 provides that “a candidate for public or party office must be a registered voter at an address that satisfies any residence requirement for the office that is imposed by law and, in the case of a party office, by party rules.”

In addition to meeting the residency and registration requirements outlined in state and local law, to be certified as a candidate for Mayor of Baltimore City, one must file (1) a “Candidate Information Sheet” and (2) a “Statement of Organization” at the Baltimore City Board of Elections.

The information on these two documents is then used by the Baltimore City Board of Elections to generate a “Certificate of Candidacy,” which is the legal document certifying a person’s candidacy pursuant to Election Law Articles §5-301 through §5-303. The “Certificate of Candidacy” is required to be signed by the candidate under the penalties of perjury.

On or about January 24, 2020, Mr. Gonzalez submitted a “Candidate Information Sheet” and “Statement of Organization” to the Baltimore City Board of Elections, noting that his residential address was located in Baltimore City at 620 South Ellwood Avenue, Baltimore, Md, 21224. Based on this representation, the Baltimore City Board of Elections generated a Certificate of Candidacy, which noted that Mr. Gonzalez resided at the aforementioned Baltimore City address. Mr. Gonzalez signed the Certificate of Candidacy under penalties of perjury and affirmed that the information contained on the form, including the noted Baltimore city address, was correct and accurate, and that he met all the requirements for the office of Mayor of Baltimore City. As previously noted, the requirements for the office of Mayor of Baltimore City include the requirements of being a Baltimore City resident for at least one year prior to the election and being a registered voter of Baltimore City.

Investigation revealed that despite Mr. Gonzalez’s affirmation that he lived in Baltimore City, Mr. Gonzalez’s actual residential address was located at 220 Marina View Court, Essex, Maryland, 21221, in Baltimore County—a property he has owned since 2016.

For example, Mr. Gonzalez continued to receive mail at the Essex address even after filing his Certificate of Candidacy. The most recent tax filings by Mr. Gonzalez indicate that he filed his taxes using the Baltimore County address. Notably, the Baltimore County address has continuously been registered as his principal address since 2017.

Furthermore, a review of Gonzalez’s personnel records from the Baltimore Police

The department showed that during his many years of service with the Department he had never listed 620 S. Ellwood Avenue as a residence, despite being required to update his contact information anytime there was a change and updating his address in the past.

The Baltimore City address listed in Mr. Gonzalez’s candidacy filings has actually been owned by Zoltan and Debra Kiss since 1983, and they have registered it as their principal residence. State property records describe the location as “owner-occupied.”

On October 28, 2020, Investigators interviewed Zoltan Kiss. That interview was recorded.

During the course of the interview, Mr. Kiss acknowledged that while he knew Gonzalez, Gonzalez never resided with him, nor did he ever stay overnight, at 620 S. Ellwood Avenue, Baltimore, Md, 21224. If called to testify, Mr. Kiss would testify that at no time was Gonzalez a resident of his Baltimore City home.

If called to testify, witnesses would identify Ivan Gonzales as the individual who perjuriously signed and filed a “Certificate of Candidacy” in order to run for Mayor of Baltimore City during the 2020 primary election. These events occurred in Baltimore City, Maryland.

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