In the wake of The Brew’s reporting – including the secret $83,675 payment to firefighter Philip Tirabassi engineered by top staffers for Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski – connections between the two are under scrutiny, including old posts on social media.

“Feeling blessed with John Olszewski Jr. at BCoFD Station 9 – Edgemere,” Tirabassi posted on his Facebook page, together with a photo of himself next to the county executive during a firefighters’ charity drive for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The date of the post – August 29, 2019 – is significant:

Tirabassi’s request for the transfer of his service time at the Baltimore City Fire Department to the county – which would have yielded him a cash windfall of about $250,000 when he retired – had been rejected by the county’s budget director.

Two weeks later, on September 10, 2019, the new budget director undertook a re-review of Tirabassi’s transfer application “at the request of the County Executive,” according to emails recently disclosed in a Maryland Public Information Act lawsuit.

The re-review affirmed the decision of the previous budget director to reject Tirabassi’s claim.

That, however, did not end of the firefighter’s efforts to secure a cash settlement from the county of a kind not granted to other retirees – efforts that involved many interactions with Olszewski’s top aides, Pat Murray, Stacy L. Rodgers and James R. Benjamin Jr., and direct meetings with the county executive himself.

Ultimately, in December 2020, Tirabassi got a check from the county, drawn from the general liability fund (rather than the pension fund) and masked in county records with the false name “Philip Dough.”

A lawsuit filed by former county administrator Fred Homan is seeking to bring more details of the transaction to light – and the county, as The Brew first reported, has spent $325,000 in legal fees to fight it, with $200,000 more allocated by the Baltimore County Council at Olszewski’s request.

Republican Call to Resign

Amid this legal and media scrutiny, the Maryland Republican Party has called for Olszewski to resign and drop his candidacy for the 2nd District Congressional seat vacated by retiring Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger.

The GOP is “grasping at straws” was the response of Olszewsk’s campaign.

The candidate himself has begun to respond to the revelations, including The Brew’s report this week that Tirabassi, a licensed real estate broker, represented Olszewski in his purchase and sale of property in St. Helena and the acquisition of land for his new residence overlooking the Chesapeake Bay at Millers Island.

“I do not have a close personal relationship with Mr. Philip Tirabassi,” Olszewski has insisted.

In addition to the Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser they attended in 2019, Tirabassi also “shared a memory” on Facebook about having participated in a golfing event associated with Olszewski.

“9 years ago I played in the Johnny O tournament and now he’s CE,” Tirabassi enthused.

When a commenter says “he’s going to raise your taxes and you play golf with this a__hole,” Tirabassi responded in support of Olszewski.

“BE NICE,” he wrote, explaining, “Whoever was elected had to do it because of the huge deficit that was left by (previous County Executive, Kevin) Kamenetz. You have to play the cards your dealt. When you leave an overwhelming shortfall you either cut services or raise taxes.”

• To reach a reporter: reuttermark@yahoo.com
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Baltimore Brew’s exclusive coverage of the Olszewski administration’s Tirabassi payment: 

• PART 1: Firefighter who got secret cash payment handled personal real estate for Baltimore County Executive Olszewski (7/30/24)

• PART 2: County attorney says she was – “100%” – fired for questioning the Tirabassi deal (7/31/24)

• RESPONSE: Tirabassi’s attorney says County Executive Olszewski “sought to renege” on initial settlement (7/31/24)

• Olszewski administration seeks $200,000 more in battle over public information records (7/1/24)