WASHINGTON — Who says small-town politics doesn’t have drama?
A Princess Anne, Maryland, town commissioner faces extortion and theft charges after he allegedly took money to keep somebody from running for Somerset County commissioner.
The Maryland State Police say investigators started their investigation after learning that Lionel D. Frederick II, 25, had contacted a county commissioner and said he had someone who would run for the commissioner’s seat. Frederick told him he would convince the person not to run if the commissioner paid him $5,000, police said.
Police said Frederick met on Monday with the commissioner, whom they didn’t name, and accepted $2,500.
State police had the meeting under surveillance, and troopers arrested Frederick right after the transaction.
Five commissioners represent Somerset County, a county with a population of just over 25,700, according to the Census Bureau.
