Ulysses Currie

Ulysses D. Currie (born 10 July 1937) is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former member of the Maryland State Senate, having represented Maryland's District 25 in Prince George's County. Currie was the Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee before having to resign because of an ethics violation.

Background
Currie, the son of a sharecropper, grew up in Whiteville, North Carolina. He was the first of his family to go to college and earned his undergraduate degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He served in the United States Army 1960-1963, and was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey and in Germany. After serving in the army, he moved to the Washington, DC area to attend American University. Currie worked for 25 years as an educator in the Prince George's County Public Schools.

In the legislature
Currie was originally elected to the House of Delegates in 1986, representing District 25 in Prince George's County. During his time in the house, he became Majority Whip, the 3rd-ranking position in the House after the Speaker and the Majority Leader. Currie was elected to his seat in the State Senate in 1994. He is a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee.

FBI Investigation
On May 29, 2008, it was reported that the FBI had searched Currie's District Heights home and taken documents related to his work as a consultant to Shoppers Food & Pharmacy. On 1 September 2010, federal grand jury indicted Currie and Shoppers Food Warehouse Corporation executives William J. White and R. Kevin Small in connection with a scheme from 2002 to 2008 in which the supermarket chain allegedly paid Senator Currie in exchange for using his official position and influence in matters benefitting White, Small, and the supermarket chain. Currie was acquitted on 8 November 2011. However in 2012 he was censured by the state senate for ethics violations from facts discovered during the investigation, and was forced to resign from the chairmanship of the Budget and Taxation Committee.