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: Contractor did work on home of Bromwell : Company tied to probe is listed in ex-senator's May disclosure records; Installed plumbing in new house; But report to ethics panel lacks details of debt paid to Poole and Kent Co. : By Walter F. Roche Jr. and David Nitkin : Sun Staff : Originally published September 4, 2003 : The Baltimore contracting firm tied to a federal investigation of former state Sen. Thomas L. Bromwell installed the plumbing and ventilation systems in the former senator's half-million-dollar Baltimore County home, records show. : Poole and Kent Co. received a plumbing and ventilation permit for Bromwell's residence in the 9300 block of Ravenridge Road a little more than three years ago, according to county building permits. The home has an assessed value of $566,250. : But records filed with the State Ethics Commission show that Bromwell disclosed in May for the first time that he owed the firm money for its services. : Poole and Kent has also performed millions of dollars' worth of work under contracts with Maryland agencies. : In a financial disclosure statement for the 2002 calendar year, Bromwell listed Poole and Kent as a creditor - stating he owed a debt to the company "for heating, plumbing and air-conditioning on construction of primary residence." : Though the plumbing and air conditioning work was apparently initiated about three years ago, the debt was not listed in the senator's financial disclosure form for 2001, the year state records say the house was completed. : Bromwell did not state the amount he owed in his most recent filing, or how much interest he is being charged. The form said that "Lump sum payments have been made." : According to law-enforcement sources, federal investigators are probing the relationship between Bromwell and Poole and Kent, which in 1999 won a $41 million contract from the state to build the juvenile justice center in Baltimore over the objections of a company that had bid $1 million less. : Poole and Kent describes itself in press releases as a "provider of mechanical service to waste/water treatment utilities, government agencies, transportation authorities, and commercial and institutional clients in variety of industries." There is no mention of work on private residences such as Bromwell's Loch Raven home. : Last month, as part of the FBI inquiry, investigators asked the state General Assembly for the names of all staffers who worked for Bromwell during the four years ending in 2002. : State officials gave the FBI a list of 18 names. : Bromwell, who left the General Assembly last year to take the job of chief executive officer of the state Injured Workers' Insurance Fund, did not respond yesterday to requests for comment on the investigation or the work done on his house by Poole and Kent. : Before his resignation, Bromwell was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, an influential post, but not one which directly controls state construction spending. Neither he nor any other lawmaker is a member of the Board of Public Works, which awarded Poole and Kent the juvenile justice center contract. : Officials at Poole and Kent and its parent company, Connecticut-based EMCOR Co., also declined comment. : The company's permit at Bromwell's house, dated Aug. 8, 2000, is one of four on file for the home Bromwell had built during the waning days of his tenure in the Maryland Senate. : County files show the original permit for Bromwell's four-bedroom residence was taken out on Aug. 1, 2000, by Bromwell. No contractor was listed. The permit calls for a 6,663-square-foot house; state assessment records say its size is 4,628 square feet. : A subsequent permit for a swimming pool dated September 2001 lists the contractor as Dallas Construction Inc. State records show that a company called Dallas Inc. was formed in 1996 by Bromwell but had its charter revoked Oct. 5, 2001, for not filing an annual report. : The plumbing permit taken out by Poole and Kent does not list a value for the work being performed. The company paid a $412.96 fee for the permit. : State Ethics Commission financial disclosure forms contain a section for debts owed "to persons doing business with the state," and officials are supposed to list the date the debt was incurred, the interest rate on the loan, the amount owed and any collateral used. : But Bromwell did not list the Poole and Kent debt in that section; he included it on a page for "optional" disclosures, and did not state the amount owed or other terms. : Failure to file correct forms can result in fines and other civil and administrative penalties, including termination, according to state law. "Willful and false filing," according to the State Ethics Commission, can result in criminal charges of perjury. : Poole and Kent has worked on several major state contracting projects including M&T Bank Stadium.

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