Lobbyist Pica favors Senator Bromwell and others with dinners

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: Pica favors lawmakers with dinners : Lobbyist for Angelos finds a way to keep on paying; Few senators attend; Two committees singled out for repeated invitations : By Michael Dresser. Sun Staff, June 17, 2001 : Two years ago, the General Assembly moved to put an end to the cozy tradition of lobbyists wining and dining their pals in the legislature. : But former state Sen. John A. Pica Jr., a lobbyist for lawyer Peter G. Angelos, has found a way around the ban on lobbyist-paid meals that has allowed him to continue socializing with lawmakers on his client's tab. : Exploiting a loophole in the 1999 ethics reform law, Pica ran up more than $7,000 in charges at Annapolis restaurants during this year's legislative session - most of it spent entertaining a handful of senators on two committees. : Specifically, he spent $7,534 of the Angelos law firm's money on nine meals - with tabs of as much as $100 per person. : If Pica had taken individual lawmakers to dinner, it would have been a violation of the ethics law. But because he invited entire committees, the dinners appear to be legal - even if only two or three legislators showed up. : . : . : . : "When he invites the committee, I go," said Sen. Thomas L. Bromwell, the Baltimore County Democrat who chairs the Finance Committee. : . : . : .

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