Zina Celestine Pierre, the recent upset winner in the Democratic Primary for Mayor, has a lengthy history of legal troubles that have repeatedly landed her in court for issues such as mortgage foreclosure, tax lien and a credit union judgment.
According to state records easily available online, Zina C. Pierre is listed as a defendant in 18 civil lawsuits and 3 traffic cases in Prince Georges County, the earliest being 1990 and the most recent two being filed in March of 2009. In all cases she is the defendant.
Five of the civil lawsuits are listed as still active and involve a mortgage foreclosure, a credit union judgment against her (over $6,000), a State of Maryland tax lien ($653), another approximate $6,000 judgment against her and what looks like her company, and another lien. These are just the active and open lawsuits. Among those listed as closed are lawsuits involving Hecht's and Jaguar Land Rover of Annapolis.
Of the three traffic offenses, two are still open and list her as failing to appear in court in 1995 and 1996 for citations involving speeding and driving without a license. The third case also stems from 1995 and was for failing to display a license. She initially failed to appear in court but plead guilty to the charge in 2008.
In a telephone call this afternoon to one of Pierre's top campaign organizers, CP learned that the staffer had just become aware of the situation and was trying to ascertain more details. As of publication time, the campaign had not called back.
For complete information, visit www.courts.state.md.us/ and enter the name Zina Pierre. (CP NOTES: The direct link cannot be posted. You must do the search at that site by yourself. Go to search court records and do case search). The defendant in one case is described as an African American female, born December, 1964, height 5'4", weight 130 lbs. That particular case was for driving at 72 mph in a 55 mph zone.
While of course it is not clear how this will affect her candidacy in the long run, it is certain to put a damper on the jubilation and excitement that followed a positive and upbeat campaign in which she was originally dismissed by many as a newcomer. These recent details had never been brought to light in the campaign, perhaps because she was dismissed as a long-shot candidate or she just appealed to so many for her apparent honesty and upbeat attitude that nobody bothered to examine her background.
What will happen next is anyone's guess, but I am not going to speculate how any of the various scenarios may play out. Pierre needs to answer all these items listed on the MD Judiciary's web-site, but no doubt this will call into question a host of concerns about her credibility and ability to manage her own personal and financial affairs.
Even though she was born and raised in Annapolis, she had not been active in the state capitol but had made a name for herself in the nation's capitol where she was a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, following a career in television production. Clinton also recorded an endorsement of Pierre which was used in a "robo-call "to many voters and the former President was widely rumored to be coming to Annapolis to endorse her in the general election, slated for November 3. Pierre is also an ordained minister.
1 Comment:
To her credit she did not fail to disclose what was not asked of her - I am sorry that she is stepping out despite having an unimpressive criminal background - I think we have a history of preferring candidates with a stronger resume in that department (and I mean in general not our current mayor) and hope the citizens will have the opportunity to consider the two other front runner democratic candidates fairly as the favored candidate now seems uncertain.
Did you break this Paul in which case congratulations
It's amazing that no one published background checks on these people before.
Post a Comment