Aide to Baltimore mayor Pugh pleads guilty to campaign finance violation

An aide to Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh was found guilty Tuesday morning of violating election laws for funneling cash to Pugh's campaign through relatives, the state prosecutor said.

Gary Brown Jr., 35, entered an Alford plea in Baltimore Circuit Court to two counts of making illegal campaign contributions, one day before he was scheduled to go to trial.

An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors enough evidence to win a conviction.

Prosecutors said the source of the cash remains unknown, and a spokesman for Pugh said Brown remains employed at City Hall.

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