A Prince George’s delegate facing charges of stealing from her campaign and adding an employee at her law firm to the state payroll will now face additional supervision in Annapolis, according to House leadership.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis said in a Dec. 15 statement that Del. Tiffany Alston (D-Dist. 24) of Mitchellville would face biweekly reviews of her legislative account and that the Department of Legislative Services would be responsible for verifying the time sheets of Alston’s legislative staff.

“While it is important to remember that Delegate Alston has not been convicted of a crime, I believe that the allegation of theft of state dollars warrants an immediate response to assure the public that legislative funds are being used appropriately by those who have been entrusted with them,” Busch said in the statement.

Alston was indicted Dec. 15 on charges of misdemeanor theft and misconduct in office, three months after being indicted for theft and election law violations.

State prosecutors allege Alston arranged for the General Assembly to pay an employee of her private law firm for work done at the firm. Alston added the employee to the state payroll as a legislative clerk at a rate of $100 per day, but the employee never worked in Annapolis and continued with her regular duties at Alston’s law practice, according to prosecutors.

The employee was paid a total of $800 in January, after which she resigned from the law firm, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors initially indicted Alston in September on charges that she had taken money from her election campaign for personal expenses, including a $1,250 cash withdrawal, $660 that went to pay a law firm employee and about $3,600 in wedding expenses. The checks for the wedding costs were returned for insufficient funds, according to prosecutors.

Alston denied any criminal wrongdoing in a September statement. She did not return calls for comment on the new charges.

Alston’s attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, told The Gazette the charges were without merit. Gordon also said the new charges could be retaliation for Alston's criticism of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s congressional redistricting plan, which Alston and others have said dilutes minority representation. Gordon previously argued that charges filed against Alston in September were backlash for withdrawing her support for a bill that would have allowed same-sex marriage in Maryland.

The governor’s office denied those allegations.

The Office of the State Prosecutor, which is prosecuting the case, operates independently of the governor or any other office, said Raquel Guillory, spokeswoman for O’Malley.

Gordon also said he had requested an opportunity to present evidence before the Anne Arundel County Grand Jury that submitted the indictment on Dec. 12 but that he did not receive a response.

The Office of the State Prosecutor could not comment on Gordon’s request because grand jury proceedings are confidential, according to Jim Cabezas, chief investigator for the office.

Alston was elected to the legislature in November 2010. She now faces a total of seven counts, including one count of felony theft that could bring up to 10 years in jail.

Alston’s trial on the initial charges is scheduled to begin May 14. A trial for the new charges is scheduled for April 3.

dleaderman@gazette.net