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Maryland
‘I was sick inside:’ UMMS leaders detail Snyder’s alleged extortion in trial
When Dr. Stephen Bartlett, then one of the top officials at the University of Maryland Medical System, arrived at the Capital Grille in downtown Baltimore for dinner with medical malpractice attorney Stephen L. Snyder, he was guided to the bar where the maître d’ handed him an envelope.
It contained graphic images of a hospital patient whose transplant surgery had gone wrong. Snyder said he wanted $25 million to keep it quiet. They eventually sat down to eat with their significant others.
Snyder, who Bartlett recalled was red-faced with bloodshot eyes, said multiple times to Bartlett’s wife, “As long as he does what I want him to do, you’ll be OK.”
“I was sick inside,” Bartlett recalled. “I felt as if I had just had dinner with a very bad person.”
Bartlett was among the hospital system leaders who have testified at the federal extortion trial of Snyder, who earned hundreds of millions of dollars in his career and was regarded as one of the top plaintiffs attorneys in the state. Federal prosecutors say he went too far in 2018, demanding $25 million for a sham consultant position or else he would expose what he alleged were severe problems in the hospital’s organ transplant program.
Bartlett, who was one of the highest paid employees in the state when he departed in late 2018, defended the hospital’s program. He said the hospital recognized in the 1990s that more people’s lives could be saved or extended by using kidneys that were being discarded.
“People were not getting transplants who should have,” Bartlett testified.
Another official, Dr. Depriest Whye, testified Wednesday that Snyder’s accusations contained “inaccuracies, falsehoods and distortions.”
Snyder counters that data show the University of Maryland was out on a limb, and that he consulted with experts who agreed. Two of them are expected to testify during his defense presentation.
The hospital system agreed to pay settlements of $8.5 million and $5 million to two of his clients, which Snyder said was far above what would be expected. He called it a “Snyder premium” because he was known as an effective litigator.
Bartlett took part in a settlement conference for one of those clients, and said Snyder asked him to step out into the hallway where he said he knew of deeper problems at the hospital. He asked for Bartlett’s cell phone number.
“I really wanted to learn what it is he knew,” Bartlett testified.
That led to the dinner in March 2018. Bartlett’s wife testified that Snyder told the couple they could come to Miami and ride around in his Rolls Royce, but also kept directing the conversation back to her husband’s need to comply with his demand. She said she was “scared and threatened,” and believed Snyder was “unstable.”
“If you felt threatened, why didn’t you get up and leave?” Snyder, who is representing himself, asked her on cross-examination.
“I didn’t want to be rude,” she said.
At one point, Snyder asked Bartlett about what he said were “serious infections” of a kidney transplanted into a patient who died. Bartlett said he disagreed with Snyder’s assessment of the organ.
“Are you saying I made that up?” Snyder asked.
“I’m suggesting you don’t understand the medicine,” Bartlett replied.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Governor Moore has signed House Bill 1532 — Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act into law today, providing limited relief to Maryland ratepayers while advancing critical protections for property owners impacted by large-scale energy infrastructure projects.
Several Republican-led amendments aimed at delivering broader, long-term cost savings for Maryland families were ultimately rejected, including:
• Ending the EmPOWER Maryland Program;
• Adjusting Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards; and
• Withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Senator J.B. Jennings successfully secured an amendment to the Utility RELIEF Act, strengthening transparency and notification requirements for landowners impacted by major transmission line projects. The amendment incorporates key language from his bill, Senate Bill 584 — Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity and Transmission Lines — Notice to Landowners, introduced during the 2026 legislative session in response to concerns surrounding the Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project (PSC Case #9748). Senate Bill 584 requires clear, direct and documented notice to affected and adjacent property owners, including formal notice of their right to intervene in Public Service Commission proceedings, and received favorable testimony from Protect Our Streams, The Valleys Planning Council and the Maryland Farm Bureau.
Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly wrote in support of the measure, saying, “This legislation does not prevent necessary projects from moving forward; it simply ensures that affected citizens are properly notified and afforded due process.”
Joanne Frederick, leader of Stop MPRP, also testified in support of the bill, stating, “Maryland property owners should not have to rely on rumor or last-minute meetings to learn that their land is under consideration for a transmission corridor.”
Although SB584 received a strong hearing before the Senate Energy, Education and the Environment Committee, it was never brought forward for a final vote.
Supporters of the Jennings amendment pointed to major inconsistencies in how utilities interpreted Maryland’s existing notification laws. While developers of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project directly informed landowners and local governments of their rights to intervene, BGE relied primarily on a legal advertisement, website posting and social media notice for the Brandon Shores project.
“When this bill didn’t leave committee, I knew that we had to throw a Hail Mary and amend the Utility RELIEF Act to meet the needs of Marylanders like my constituents, who are struggling to navigate an unclear process,” said Senator Jennings.
When facing pushback on the Senate floor, regarding the inconvenience the amendment would cause for utility companies, Jennings said, “It’s somebody’s family’s home, where they raised their children. And to sit there and say to them, ‘I’m sorry you didn’t get notified, tough luck,’ That’s why we are down here, to fight for our constituents… This amendment can fix that, to make sure they’re notified properly and it’s done the right way. It’s simple. I’m disappointed that this is the attitude we are going to take, when I try to fight for my constituency.”
As he fought for the amendment, he warned, “They’re going to be calling each and every one of us, saying I wasn’t notified, they’re taking our family farm and taking my home,” emphasizing that the measure would address a problem many lawmakers will otherwise be forced to confront.
“The statute, as previously written, was too ambiguous and allowed utilities to decide how much, or how little, notice to provide,” Senator Jennings said. “Maryland families deserve a fair and transparent process regardless of which utility is involved.”
The signing of the Utility RELIEF Act comes as Senator Jennings, and several regional lawmakers continue to challenge the Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project before the Public Service Commission. On April 9, 2026, Senator Jennings joined Senators Chris West, Johnny Ray Salling and Mary-Dulany James in filing an appeal. He later submitted a detailed Memorandum of Appeal on April 19, 2026, outlining constituent concerns, alleged deficiencies in the CPCN process and evidence suggesting the proposed transmission infrastructure may extend beyond immediate reliability need.
Among the concerns raised was a 2014 rendering mailed to landowners depicting a second transmission line designated for “future capacity,” raising additional questions about the long-term scope and purpose of the project. During evidentiary hearings last October, a Public Utility Law Judge cited Senator Jennings’ earlier letter challenging the redaction of project files and acknowledged the validity of transparency concerns raised by affected communities. In that letter, Senator Jennings wrote, “My constituents deserve transparency and assurance that there is a genuine and immediate reliability crisis, not that this infrastructure is being justified by speculative, future commercial needs.”
An independent report prepared for the Power Plant Research Program similarly concluded the project could create transmission capacity exceeding identified reliability needs.
The Public Service Commission is now expected to issue a final order in Case #9748 in the coming months.
Related
LEONARDTOWN, Md. – A Mechanicsville man was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for killing another man outside a Maryland liquor store in 2023.
What we know:
Leroy Christpher Neal, 50, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years, and life plus five years of active incarceration for the attack, the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office announced.
Neal was convicted in December.
SUGGESTED: Alabama man charged after gun pulled in Maryland road rage incident, deputies say
The murder happened on Nov. 4, 2023, at a liquor store in Great Mills. That day, deputies said, Neal lured the victim to a secluded part of the parking lot behind the building, close to the edge of the woods.
What they’re saying:
State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling said Tuesday that Neal “executed the victim in cold blood by shooting him in the back as he tried to escape,” calling it “a merciless and premeditated killing that stole a man’s life and devastated his family.”
“For years, his loved ones have carried the weight of this unimaginable loss while waiting for justice and accountability,” Sterling said. “My heart remains with them, and I hope this outcome brings them a measure of peace and closure.”
The Source: Information in this story is from the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
The driver of a car involved in a crash with a Prince George’s County school bus in Accokeek, Maryland, on Friday has been identified.
Prince George’s County police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Bryans Road in Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive around 7:20 a.m. when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
Investigators said the crash happened in the intersection, causing the school bus to flip onto its side. Gravely died at the scene.
The school bus driver was transported to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Police said no students were on the bus at the time of the crash.
Investigators said they believe debris from the collision damaged a third vehicle. The driver of that vehicle “declined medical attention,” police said.
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 301-731-4422.
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this report.
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