Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was charged on Wednesday with wire fraud and tax evasion relating to sales of her self-published “Healthy Holly” children’s book to charities where she worked, federal prosecutors said. Pugh, 69, who initially defended the arrangement, called it a “regrettable mistake” in March and resigned in May. Federal prosecutors charged Pugh with using the proceeds of the book sales to fund straw donations to her mayoral election campaign and towards the purchase and renovation of a house in Baltimore.
