Glen Arm Man Pleads Guilty to Bribery in Baltimore City Hall Scheme

James Carroll Erny Jr., a 54-year-old Glen Arm property owner, pleaded guilty in federal court today to a single bribery count for paying a Baltimore City finance employee to erase or delay debts tied to his properties, U.S. prosecutors say. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett accepted the plea and set sentencing for June 2026.

Plea documents and prosecutors’ filings say Erny admitted paying at least $25,000 in bribes that helped eliminate roughly $147,500 in outstanding city bills. The bribery count carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. Erny also agreed in his plea to pay nearly $450,000 in restitution, a figure prosecutors say covers both the City Hall bribery scheme and separate allegations that he defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program.

Prosecutors describe a scheme in which a City Department of Finance employee, Joseph Gillespie, removed liens, delayed tax-sale deadlines, and altered city records to halt tax, water, and citation obligations in exchange for payments. Gillespie is alleged to have charged property owners roughly 10 to 15 percent of the debts they owed and at times supplied bogus cashier slips or photographs of receipts after altering records.

The mechanics prosecutors laid out include cash envelopes handed over in the men’s bathroom of the Abel Wolman Municipal Building, sometimes containing as much as $1,000, and electronic transfers on Cash App or Zelle. Court filings and prosecutors’ materials say Erny owned at least eight properties in Baltimore and made both cash and electronic payments to secure the record changes.

Financial totals attributed to prosecutors portray a broader scheme that generated more than $250,000 in bribes and cost the city in excess of $1.25 million in revenue. Prosecutors allege Gillespie personally accepted about $125,000 in cash bribes between 2016 and his arrest in 2023. Gillespie pleaded, was convicted, and received a four-year federal prison sentence last February; he resigned from city employment in 2024, filings show.

Court filings include text messages cited as evidence. One 2022 message from Joseph Gillespie reads, "How much u got for it man lol." Erny allegedly replied, "As much for you and as little for them as possible?" and "F the city." Another message attributed to Erny states, "I'm happy to pay u instead of corrupt politicians."

The case has touched ongoing concerns about Baltimore’s tax-sale system. A 2023 investigation by The Baltimore Banner found the program disproportionately affects Black neighborhoods and bypasses many mostly white areas, a finding that housing justice advocates said intensified anger over how vulnerable homeowners can lose property, sometimes after municipal errors.

Next steps in the federal case are procedural but consequential: Judge Bennett will review the plea agreement, sentencing guidelines, and restitution recommendations before imposing sentence in June 2026. Prosecutors have linked the individual charges in Erny’s plea to the larger investigation that produced multiple indictments and convictions tied to the Department of Finance scheme.