Most of the public allegations, many of them aired during a council hearing on May 16, involve lease or purchase deals that city officials made with developer Douglas Jemal. But Councilman Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, whose subcommittee oversees the city’s Office of Property Management, said he has uncovered documents indicating "shady" deals may involve other commercial property landlords as well.

"We have a serious scandal on our hands," Graham told The Common Denominator. Graham’s subcommittee is seeking subpoenas to compel testimony and production of documents by Jemal and others who have refused to cooperate with the council’s investigation.

Jemal, a political supporter of Mayor Anthony A. Williams, has denied any wrongdoing connected with the mayor’s attempt last fall to push emergency legislation through the council that would have approved a $12.5 million deal to purchase property in Prince George’s County, Md., that Jemal acquired in 1998 for $1.5 million. The city currently leases the land, near the Deanwood Metro station, at $1 million a year for use as an impounded vehicle storage lot – even though suburban Maryland officials have denied permits for such use.

Graham and Councilwoman Carol Schwartz, R-At Large, whose committee oversees public works, stopped the deal. Schwartz then asked D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols to investigate the agreement, which also would have transferred ownership of a historic firehouse at 438 Massachusetts Ave. NW to Jemal’s Douglas Development Corp. Nichols said Jemal’s ownership of the firehouse, as part of an assemblage of parcels, likely would have increased significantly the value of adjacent land that Jemal’s company recently sold.

Nichols’ report to the council, presented during the May 16 hearing, calls for the immediate firing of Timothy F. Dimond, the city’s chief property officer, for misfeasance. Her report also raised questions about off-shore bank transactions that allegedly involved Dimond’s former deputy, Michael Lorusso, who signed many of the property documents now being scrutinized. Lorusso was fired in January and could not be located for comment. Dimond did not return a call for comment.

Herbert Tillery, deputy mayor for operations, told The Common Denominator on May 16 that he expects "to make some concrete decision" about Dimond’s job status by the middle of this week.

Nichols, Graham and Schwartz strongly criticized Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi for providing a flawed and incomplete fiscal impact statement to accompany the mayor’s request for emergency approval of the Prince George’s County land deal. John Ross, who oversees preparation of the CFO’s fiscal impact statements, said he was unable to comment because he had not yet read the auditor's rep’rt.

Graham also criticized the Corporation Counsel’s Office for allowing a purchase option to be included in Douglas Development’s lease for the city-owned historic firehouse, which has never been declared surplus and eligible for sale.

Mayor Williams declined comment. "He doesn’t have anything to say right now," said mayoral spokeswoman Sharon Gang.

Copyright 2003, The Common Denominator