Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh Resigns In Aftermath Of Children's Book Scandal

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After weeks of growing pleas for her to step down, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned, her attorney said Thursday.

"I am sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor," she said in a letter read by her lawyer Steve Silverman.

"Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward," the statement continued. Pugh, who has been suffering from health issues, did not appear at the news conference with her attorney.

In recent weeks, federal agents raided her two homes, her City Hall office and other locations. She has been on an indefinite paid leave of absence from her job as Baltimore's top elected official since April 1, citing health reasons.

Pugh, a Democrat, is under investigation for alleged "self-dealing" in connection to the sale of thousands of copies of a self-published children's book series. Many of those sales went to entities that she had influence over or that sought to do business with the city.

Maryland's Office of State Prosecutor and the city's ethics board have launched probes into whether any laws or ethics rules have been violated. At this time, no local, state, or federal authorities have charged her with any crime.

The mayor, who was elected in 2016, has been on leave to "recuperate from this serious illness," which her office said stemmed from a bout of pneumonia. She was hospitalized for five days in late March.

Baltimore City Council President Bernard "Jack" Young has been serving as acting mayor since April 2. He has said that he does not want the position on a permanent basis.

Pugh's leave came as the book scandal was heading toward a full-blown crisis, one that she was unable to tamp down.

At issue is how Pugh handled the sales of the Healthy Holly books, about a young black girl who promotes the benefits of nutrition and exercise.

The Baltimore Sun reported she has received roughly $800,000 over the years from the sale of the books. Some of the biggest benefactors include the University of Maryland Medical System.

UMMS is a private nonprofit for which Pugh served as a board member until mid-March, when she resigned from the position. It paid Pugh roughly $500,000 for copies of the books spread out in five payments from 2012-2018, according to the Sun.

A separate payment by health giant Kaiser Permanente of more than $100,000 for some 20,000 copies of the book between 2015 and 2018 was also reported by the Sun.

The payouts for the books came at a time when the company was seeking to provide coverage to city employees. The city's spending panel, which Pugh sat on, eventually awarded the company a $48 million contract with the city in 2017.

Pugh had been defiant in resisting calls for her resignation. Her office sent out a statement a week into her leave saying that "she fully intends to resume the duties of her office."

But a turning point for the mayor came on April 26, when FBI and IRS agents were seen carrying off boxes of paperwork from early morning raids — a clear sign that mayor's actions had piqued the interest of federal authorities.

As NPR reported at the time, an IRS spokesperson confirmed to NPR that the raid had been carried out at Pugh's homes, City Hall office and the Maryland Center for Adult Training, where Pugh previously chaired the board.

The IRS official, however, would not say whether the raids were related to the book deals.

Hours after the raid, Maryland's Republican Gov. Larry Hogan issued a statement urging her resignation, saying, "Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust. She is clearly not fit to lead."

That same day, Pugh's legal team confirmed federal agents also visited their offices seeking "original financial records belonging to Mayor Catherine Pugh," attorney Silverman said in a statement.

As member station WYPR's Emily Sullivan reported, Pugh's lawyers told reporters that evening that she was "becoming lucid" but not yet well enough to decide whether to resign.

It appears she has convalesced enough to realize her support as the city's top leader has all but evaporated.</s>BALTIMORE — Mayor Catherine E. Pugh resigned Thursday, a month after taking a medical leave amid a growing scandal over her sales of a self-published children’s book series, sources tell The Baltimore Sun.

Pugh submitted a letter of resignation dated Thursday. Her resignation is effective immediately, attorney Steven Silverman said at a news conference. She did not attend, and Silverman took no questions.

Pugh’s defiant pledge last month to return to work gave way after federal agents raided her home and City Hall office a week ago. She is expected to become the second Baltimore mayor in a decade to quit in the face of a criminal investigation.

Three sources familiar with the mayor’s plans tell The Sun her departure will be announced Thursday afternoon. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the mayor had not yet made her plans public.

Pugh’s attorney, Steven Silverman, has scheduled a news conference for 3:30 p.m. at his downtown office. Two of the sources said Pugh is not expected to attend.

Sources told The Sun on Wednesday that City Solicitor Andre Davis gave Silverman a draft of a resignation letter.

Her options included resigning immediately, leaving at a later date, remaining on leave or coming back to work.

Pugh, once seen as a cleaner option in a city with a history of wrongdoing by politicians, was ultimately overtaken by the public outcry over hundreds of thousands of dollars in deals for her “Healthy Holly” books. They were revealed in a series of articles in The Baltimore Sun that began March 13.

< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 4 NEXT SLIDE > BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 16: Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh speak at the premiere of HBO Documentary "Baltimore Rising" on November 16, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. © Dave Kotinsk/Getty Images North America/TNS

Pugh’s story shifted as she tried to account for first the deal to be disclosed, struck with the University of Maryland Medical System when she was a member of the hospital network’s board. She nonetheless called continued questioning by reporters a “witch hunt.”

Then, after being hospitalized for pneumonia, Pugh apologized for the UMMS sales at a City Hall news conference on March 28. But in the process of apologizing she disclosed that some 40,000 books UMMS had paid for were never produced. And in a bizarre twist, the still seriously ill mayor showed off a line of baby clothes.

The following week, it was revealed that other entities had paid for the books, including health insurer Kaiser Permanente, which made payments during the period it successfully sought a $48 million city contract.

Pugh, saying her health remained poor, announced April 1 that she was going on leave and hasn’t been seen in public since.

Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young has been running city government in Pugh’s place. He was cementing his leadership of the city even before last week’s dramatic federal raids.

Before the scandal, Pugh had tried to bring about positive change in Baltimore, but struggled to curb violent crime that reached historic levels before she took office and remained persistently high.

After becoming mayor in December 2016, Pugh quickly worked to implement a federal consent decree to reform the Police Department, only to see officers in an elite gun squad charged in a breathtaking corruption case.

Her choice of police commissioner quit after just months on the job, charged with federal crimes. His resignation began a months-long saga to replace him, which ended days before the first Healthy Holly article was published.

Outside of politics, Pugh worked as a banker and journalist, helped establish the city marathon and the Baltimore Design School, opened a clothing boutique in Pigtown, and served as dean and director of Strayer’s Business College, as Strayer University was then known.

Pugh added elected official to her resume in 1999 when she won a seat on the City Council. She was appointed to a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in 2005 and, the next year, was elected to the state Senate. Pugh ran for mayor in 2011 but came in second to Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

The state senator became more widely known to many Baltimore residents during the April 2015 unrest that followed the death of Freddie Gray from injuries suffered in police custody. Pugh, whose district included west-side areas at the center of the trouble, was highly visible on the streets. She sought to quell emotions, urged people to go home and verbally pushed back against the likes of Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera.

During an interview with Pugh on the night of April 28, Rivera opined that people seemed to want trouble. Pugh forcefully disagreed. When Rivera asked what they did want, Pugh said, “We want our people to go home, but we also want the media to move back, because this is just inciting people.”

She had a rocky time settling on a police commissioner after firing Kevin Davis in January 2018, saying he had been unable to control a homicide rate that had reached historic heights in recent years.

She elevated Deputy Commissioner Darryl D. De Sousa, but less than four months later he resigned after being charged with failing to file tax returns. A federal judge sentenced him last month to 10 months in federal prison.

With Deputy Commissioner Gary Tuggle serving as interim chief, Pugh’s November 2018 pick of Fort Worth’s top cop, Joel Fitzgerald, was mishandled and he withdrew his name in January. Pugh then selected New Orleans’ police chief Michael Harrison, and he officially took office in March.

A high point of Pugh’s tenure came in August 2017, when amid a roiling national controversy over what to do with monuments to the Confederacy, she drew praise for acting decisively. She ordered the overnight removal of four memorials from public spaces in Baltimore.

Pugh, a native of Norristown, Pennsylvania, came to Baltimore in the 1970s to attend Morgan State, from which she received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA.

Prior to running for office, she had a varied career in business and media. She was president of her own marketing and public relations firm, CEPugh. She once was an editor of special supplements to The Baltimore Sun, and was a television and radio news reporter and talk show host.

She headed the General Assembly’s Legislative Black Caucus from 2010 to 2012, and began a two-year term as president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators in February 2015. She was majority leader of the Maryland Senate from 2015 to 2016.

In 2011, she ran unsuccessfully for Baltimore mayor. She was defeated in the Democratic primary in September by Rawlings-Blake, the City Council president who had become mayor in February 2010 after Sheila Dixon resigned in a plea deal to settle corruption charges. As customary in heavily Democratic Baltimore, Rawlings-Blake went on to win in the general election.

But Rawlings-Blake, under heavy criticism for how she handled the April rioting following Gray’s death, opted against seeking re-election in 2016.

Pugh was among a crowded field to vie for the Democratic nomination and in April 2016 narrowly defeated Dixon. She won the general election in November and became Baltimore’s 50th mayor.

In 2001, Pugh created the “Fish Out of Water” art program, in which individuals and businesses sponsored 200 sculptures that were decorated by artists and placed around town. Four years later, a similar effort brought decorated crabs to public places.

Also in 2001, the avid runner founded the Baltimore Marathon. According to a Baltimore Sun article, she logged her personal best time, 3:10:55, in the 1985 Maryland Marathon.

In 2010, she founded the Baltimore Design School, a public school for students interested in fashion, architecture and other arts.

In 2013, she, Baltimore Comptroller Joan M. Pratt and two other fashionable friends opened 2 Chic Boutique, a high-end consignment shop in Pigtown. One of the friends, Afra Vance-White, was among the three Pugh aides who were put on leave and then fired in April while the mayor herself was on medical leave. The shop has been closed since the end of last year, Pratt said.

———

©2019 The Baltimore Sun

Visit The Baltimore Sun at www.baltimoresun.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</s>“Dear Citizens of Baltimore, I would like to thank you for allowing me to serve as the 50th mayor. It has been an honor and a privilege. Today I am submitting my written resignation to the Baltimore City Council. I am sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the Mayor. Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward. I want to thank all of our department heads and staff who work hard every day to improve the quality of life for all who live, work and visit our city. I also thank Jack Young, the president of the City Council for his steadfast leadership in my absence. I wish you well in your new role as Mayor of Baltimore City.”

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned. Pugh’s attorney Steve Silverman read a statement from the former mayor outside his office Thursday afternoon.

‘Our Elected Officials Are Deserving Of Prayer,’ Group Holds Prayer Vigil For Mayor Catherine Pugh

Gov. Larry Hogan called it the right decision.

“This was the right decision, as it was clear the mayor could no longer lead effectively. The federal and state investigations must and will continue to uncover the facts,” Hogan said. “Baltimore City can now begin to move forward. The state pledges its full support to incoming Mayor Jack Young and to city leaders during this time of transition.”

Legal expert Adam Ruther told WJZ’s Mike Hellgren that Pugh’s resignation could help her if she’s charged with corruption or tax fraud in the future.

“To your other question about why make a decision now to resign given that she is currently not charged with anything and innocent until proven guilty — it’s worth remembering — is really more of a political one,” Ruther said. “If the mayor has reached the point where she realizes the shadow of these investigations and the investigation hang over her, she can’t be effective in her job serving the citizens of the city of Baltimore, then the right thing to do by any standard is for her to step down.”

The news comes after weeks of local and state leaders called for her resignation after a scandal related to her ‘Healthy Holly’ children’s book series.
• 
• Mayor Catherine Pugh Resigns. So Now What?
• A Look Into Mayor Catherine Pugh’s Political Career Leading Up To Recent Controversy
• Here Are The 5 Places The Feds Raided In Baltimore
• Mayor Catherine Pugh’s Lawyer Says She’s Not ‘Lucid’ Enough To Make Decision About Resignation
• A Look Into The Investigation Of Mayor Catherine Pugh’s Book Dealings As Another Group Calls For Her Resignation

Mayor Pugh has been under fire over book deals with organizations doing business with the city that have netted her almost $800,000.

Pugh was on a leave of absence due to her health. She was diagnosed with pneumonia last month and spent several days in the hospital.

After holding a press conference on the day she was released from the hospital and plugging her ‘Healthy Holly’ baby gear, she’s stayed out of the spotlight.

Last week, the FBI and the IRS raided Pugh’s homes and offices. They also delivered a subpoena to her attorney’s office.

Gov. Larry Hogan again called for her resignation. Hogan already asked the state prosecutor to launch an investigation into her book deal with UMMS.

Throughout an eight-year-period, Pugh sold the Medical System $500,000 worth of her “Healthy Holly” children’s books. These books were in turn given to the Baltimore City school system, and are currently sitting in a district warehouse.

The controversy surrounding Pugh and her “Healthy Holly” book deal with the University of Maryland Medical System has continued since she went on a leave of absence.

WJZ has confirmed that Ariel Investments paid Pugh $3,600 for 400 “Healthy Holly” books to distribute at a 2013 conference in which she spoke.

In September of 2017, at a Black Corporate Directors Conference sponsored by Ariel, paid for Pugh to attend the California conference.

Five months later, Baltimore’s Board of Estimates approved a $40 million contract with Ariel.

The city Board of Ethics has started its investigation of Pugh’s business deals and whether they affected city business.

Officials are reviewing deals with at least three businesses: Carefirst, Kaiser Permanente and Ariel Investments

The nonprofit, Associated Black Charities, collected payments from Carefirst and Ariel among others and passed on about $80,000 to Pugh.

Kaiser, meanwhile, paid Pugh directly for her ‘Healthy Holly’ children’s books for three years.

Years later Pugh and the Board of Estimates approved city contracts for the companies.</s>Join Our Text Club To Get The Latest Music, Entertainment, Contests And Breaking News On Your Phone. Text MAGIC to 23845 to join!

Mayor Catherine Pugh resigned as mayor Baltimore City Thursday. Her lawyer made that announcement.

That means Jack C. Young now becomes Mayor. Young is in Detroit right now.

According to the AFRO newspaper, Mayor Catherine Pugh said she will resign as mayor of Baltimore Thursday.

This revelation was made during a one-on-on between the mayor and AFRO Publisher and CEO Frances “Toni” Draper Wednesday.

She was at the mayor’s home responding to an invitation to a pop-up prayer vigil hosted by a few of Baltimore’s praying “sistas.”

The attorney for embattled Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh promised a major announcement on her future Thursday.

“At that time, I will be in a position to tell you what her intentions are,” Steve Silverman told reporters gathered outside Pugh’s Ashburton home.

He said he would hold a press conference at his office in downtown Baltimore but declined to say whether the mayor would be resigning or whether she would even be present.

Steve Silverman went inside Pugh’s home in west Baltimore Wednesday, then came out and told reporters: “I just met with the mayor. I intend to schedule a press conference tomorrow afternoon, and at that time I will be in a position to tell you what her intentions are moving forward.”

Mayor Catherine Pugh Resigning From Serving Baltimore City Amid Scandal was originally published on wolbbaltimore.com</s>The city of Baltimore is without a permanent mayor this evening. After weeks of growing pleas for Mayor Catherine Pugh to step down, she finally resigned today in a letter read by her lawyer Steve Silverman.

STEVE SILVERMAN: Today I am submitting my written resignation to the Baltimore City Council. I am sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor.

CHANG: Pugh's resignation comes during multiple investigations into sales of her children's books. To explain more, we're joined now by Luke Broadwater of the Baltimore Sun. Welcome.

CHANG: So can you just give us some more details about what led to Pugh's resignation today?

BROADWATER: Yes. Well, for about a month and a half, she has been under tremendous political pressure. It started with a story that we broke in the Baltimore Sun involving her business dealings as a member of the University of Maryland Medical System Board of Directors. She had been selling $500,000 worth of her self-published children's books to the hospital network at a time when she was supposed to be overseeing their activities.

This spiraled into more investigative reporting from the Sun that uncovered more similar deals with other business entities that do business with the city of Baltimore. It prompted multiple investigations - state, local and finally a federal investigation. I think there's something like seven investigations...

BROADWATER: ...And multiple calls for the mayor's resignation from the governor on down to every member of the city council.

CHANG: Now, she hasn't been charged with a crime yet, but how likely is it that she is going to be facing charges?

BROADWATER: Well, I can't speculate about the likelihood of charges, but there are voluminous investigations going on, numerous investigations - I mean, the FBI, the IRS, the state prosecutor, the city Ethics Board, the inspector general, the Maryland Insurance Administration. There are multiple investigations, and we do know that they are quite likely looking at her taxes and also her ethics forms in addition to any larger alleged corruption schemes.

CHANG: Now, Pugh is the second Baltimore mayor in a decade to quit because of ties to a criminal investigation, right? So what would you say these resignations reflect about Baltimore or city politics there?

BROADWATER: Well, I would hope folks nationally wouldn't get the wrong idea about Baltimore because, I mean, Baltimore is my favorite city in the country.

BROADWATER: But the - but we have had very serious problems here with leadership and governance being done in an ethical way. And you're right. Two mayors ago, Mayor Sheila Dixon had to resign after pleading to perjury charges and to the theft of gift cards meant for children. So this is two out of the last three mayors have resigned amid scandal. Of course Mayor Pugh is only under investigation.

BROADWATER: She is not charged with any crime. But the political pressure on her, I think, made it untenable for her to govern with, you know, the governor, the state comptroller, the city delegation, the city council, the business community, everyone calling on her to resign.

CHANG: Now, just really quickly, Pugh has been on leave since early last month because of medical issues, and the current acting mayor does not want the job. So who's expected to take Pugh's place?

BROADWATER: Well, there will be a robust field of candidates now, including likely the past mayor who you referenced, Mayor Dixon - likely will get back into the mix. There are some other top candidates from the city council, from people who've run for governor before. I don't want to announce their campaigns for them, but it will be highly contested.

CHANG: Luke Broadwater is a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. Thank you very much.</s>Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh announced her resignation Thursday (May 2) following a monthlong leave of absence. Pugh had been on indefinite leave amid pressure to resign after it was revealed that companies linked to the city’s government paid her more than $700,000 over the course of several years for her self-published book series.

Pugh has been holed up in her home battling pneumonia and “emotional distress”, the Baltimore Sun reports. The 69-year-old politician released a statement apologizing for damaging the city’s image. “I would like to thank you for allowing me to serve as the 50th mayor. It has been an honor and a privilege,” the statement began.

“Today, I am submitting my written resignation to the Baltimore City Council. I am sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the Office of the Mayor. Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward. I want to thank all of our department heads and staff who work hard every day to improve the quality of life for all who live, work and visit our city.”

In her resignation statement, Pugh also thanked Baltimore City Council President Jack Young for his “steadfast leadership” during her absence, and wished him wall as he prepares to replace her as mayor.

Pugh’s finances and business dealings have been the focus of a federal probe. Last week, the FBI and IRS raided Pugh's office and home as part of the investigation.

Pugh was elected mayor in 2016. Her resignation is effective immediately.</s>Embattled Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who has been away from the job amid a corruption scandal centered around a children’s book, announced her resignation through her lawyer Thursday.

"Dear citizens of Baltimore, I would like to thank you for allowing me to serve as the fiftieth mayor. It has been an honor and a privilege," the statement read by her lawyer said. "Today I am submitting my written resignation to the Baltimore City Council."

"I am sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor," Pugh's statement continued. "Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward."

The announcement was widely expected as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, and members of the Baltimore City Council and others had called for the mayor to resign.

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Last week, federal agents searched the homes and City Hall offices of Pugh, who is under state investigation over hundreds of thousands of dollars earned selling her "Healthy Holly" series of children’s books to a health plan that does business with the city and a University of Maryland medical system she once helped oversee.

Pugh's announcement was delayed by health issues. On April 1, she took a leave of absence to recover from pneumonia. Last week, her attorney, Steve Silverman, said any decision on whether to resign or not would only come when she is “physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

Silverman said Pugh had been suffering from severe pneumonia and severe bronchitis and was “under a tremendous amount of stress.”

“She is physically still ill and she is obviously emotionally extremely distraught, and I feel terrible for her as a human being,” he said last week, adding that Pugh was entitled to the presumption of innocence and she had apologized to the people of Baltimore.

Pugh has yet to be charged with anything, and the scope of the investigation into her book sales is unclear, but federal investigators have joined state and city efforts to make sense of how she earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from her self-published book sold to the hospital network.

Pugh assumed office in 2016, winning 57 percent of the popular vote. Before that, she served in the Maryland Senate.

The city is currently being run by acting Mayor Bernard "Jack" Young, who has quickly been working to override Pugh's legacy, firing staffers and replacing her name on city documents.

“People should understand we’re still moving the city forward with a steady hand,” Young said at a press conference last week.</s>The Latest on the Baltimore mayor's resignation amid a scandal over her self-published children's books (all times local):

Maryland's Republican governor and the chairwoman of the state's Democratic party say Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh made the right decision to resign and that by stepping down she will allow the city to move forward.

Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement that "it was clear the mayor could no longer lead effectively."

Maryland Democratic Party Chairwoman Maya Rockeymoore Cummings said the resignation "affords Baltimore the opportunity to address its challenges with courage and optimism."

Hogan said state and federal investigations into the lucrative sales of Pugh's self-published children's books "will continue to uncover the facts."

City Council member Brandon Scott says the mayor's resignation marks a "day of relief and accountability" for Baltimore.

In her resignation letter, Pugh apologized, saying she was "sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor."

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned amid an intensifying scandal and multiple investigations into the lucrative sales of her self-published children's books.

Steven Silverman is Pugh's attorney. He announced Pugh's resignation at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He said it will take effect immediately.

Reading from a written statement from Pugh, Silverman quoted her as saying, "Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward."

The decision comes exactly one week after FBI and IRS agents raided the mayor's home and City Hall offices.

Republican Gov. Larry and numerous Democrats have pressed for Pugh's resignation.

Pugh has been in self-imposed seclusion for a month. She initially announced that she was taking a leave of absence to recover from pneumonia.

At issue is the roughly $800,000 Pugh received through the years from a hospital network, insurance carriers that did business with the city and a financier for bulk copies of her "Healthy Holly" children's books.

The first-term Democrat became mayor in late 2016.

The lawyer for Baltimore's mayor is making an announcement amid growing pressure for the city's top leader to resign over a scandal involving her self-published children's books.

Mayor Catherine Pugh has been in self-imposed seclusion for a month with what attorney Steven Silverman has said is "deteriorating health after a bout of pneumonia. Silverman has said that Pugh was too ill to make any decisions about her future, even as the governor and the state and city's other top leaders have said her career is finished.

Silverman announced a news conference for Thursday afternoon to discuss the mayor's future.

At issue is the roughly $800,000 Pugh received from a hospital network and others that did business with the city for copies of her "Healthy Holly" children's books.

The first-term Democrat became mayor in late 2016.</s>(Reuters) - Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, whose home and offices were raided by federal law enforcement last week amid questions over her financial dealings, abruptly resigned on Thursday.

Pugh, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, apologized in a statement read by her lawyer for harming the city’s image.

“I am confident that I have left the city in capable hands for the duration of the term to which I was elected,” Pugh, 69, said in her resignation letter. City Council President Bernard “Jack” Young becomes acting mayor.

Pugh’s statement and formal resignation letter were read by her attorney, Steve Silverman, at a news conference outside his office in Baltimore. Pugh, who has been on medical leave and cloistered at her home since April 1, did not attend.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service searched Pugh’s home and offices on April 25 following a string of investigative stories in the Baltimore Sun newspaper beginning in mid-March about her financial dealings.

The newspaper reported that Pugh had been paid at least $500,000 by the University of Maryland Medical System, where she sat on the board, for her self-published children’s books about a character named “Healthy Holly.”

Pugh, who initially defended the book deal, apologized at a March 28 press conference, calling the arrangement a “regrettable mistake.” At the time she was suffering from pneumonia and took medical leave two days later.

Young, who has served as acting mayor during Pugh’s month-long absence, said in a separate statement that he learned only on Thursday afternoon that she was stepping down.

“I believe this action is in the best interest of Baltimore,” Young said. Although I understand that this ordeal has caused real pain for many Baltimoreans, I promise that we will emerge from it more committed than ever to building a stronger Baltimore.”

Pugh was elected to a four-year term as mayor in 2016, after gaining prominence as a state lawmaker during protests over the 2015 death of a 25-year-old black man, Freddie Gray, in police custody.

Following the law enforcement raids, 14 of the 15 members of the Baltimore City Council urged Pugh to resign. Young did not sign the letter. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, also called for her to quit.</s>The Latest: New Baltimore mayor says city will be 'stronger'

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Latest on the Baltimore mayor's resignation amid a scandal over her self-published children's books (all times local):

Baltimore's new mayor promises that Catherine Pugh's resignation will lead to a "stronger Baltimore."

After Pugh resigned as mayor Thursday afternoon, acting Mayor Bernard "Jack" Young automatically became the permanent mayor. The Democrat and longtime City Council member will not need to be sworn in.

In a statement, Young thanked the thousands of city employees who came to work each day under uncertain circumstances for weeks. He said "this ordeal has caused real pain for many Baltimoreans."

He promised to be focused on having the government provide "essential services" to citizens.

Young is currently in Detroit for a conference about economic development and will return to Baltimore over the weekend.

Pugh resigned amid an intensifying scandal and multiple investigations into the lucrative sales of her self-published children's books.

Maryland's Republican governor and the chairwoman of the state's Democratic party say Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh made the right decision to resign and that by stepping down she will allow the city to move forward.

Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement that "it was clear the mayor could no longer lead effectively."

Maryland Democratic Party Chairwoman Maya Rockeymoore Cummings said the resignation "affords Baltimore the opportunity to address its challenges with courage and optimism."

Hogan said state and federal investigations into the lucrative sales of Pugh's self-published children's books "will continue to uncover the facts."

City Council member Brandon Scott says the mayor's resignation marks a "day of relief and accountability" for Baltimore.

In her resignation letter, Pugh apologized, saying she was "sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor."

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned amid an intensifying scandal and multiple investigations into the lucrative sales of her self-published children's books.

Steven Silverman is Pugh's attorney. He announced Pugh's resignation at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He said it will take effect immediately.

Reading from a written statement from Pugh, Silverman quoted her as saying, "Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward."

The decision comes exactly one week after FBI and IRS agents raided the mayor's home and City Hall offices.

Republican Gov. Larry and numerous Democrats have pressed for Pugh's resignation.

Pugh has been in self-imposed seclusion for a month. She initially announced that she was taking a leave of absence to recover from pneumonia.

At issue is the roughly $800,000 Pugh received through the years from a hospital network, insurance carriers that did business with the city and a financier for bulk copies of her "Healthy Holly" children's books.

The first-term Democrat became mayor in late 2016.

The lawyer for Baltimore's mayor is making an announcement amid growing pressure for the city's top leader to resign over a scandal involving her self-published children's books.

Mayor Catherine Pugh has been in self-imposed seclusion for a month with what attorney Steven Silverman has said is "deteriorating health after a bout of pneumonia. Silverman has said that Pugh was too ill to make any decisions about her future, even as the governor and the state and city's other top leaders have said her career is finished.

Silverman announced a news conference for Thursday afternoon to discuss the mayor's future.

At issue is the roughly $800,000 Pugh received from a hospital network and others that did business with the city for copies of her "Healthy Holly" children's books.

The first-term Democrat became mayor in late 2016.
Catherine Pugh, Mayor of Baltimore, resigns under investigation for alleged financial improprieties. Baltimore City Council president Jack Young has been serving as acting mayor since April 2.