Former Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan sued a former county employee in 2024 because she believed he abused his power while trying to curtail her own, according to court documents unsealed last week.
The reason Madigan sued was revealed for the first time in court records that Judge Dennis Robinson Jr. unsealed Friday. Madigan’s abuse accusation stemmed from a meeting over coffee between Madigan and the employee, Patrick Murray, in 2021.
Murray was the chief of staff for County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. and was working on legislation to rein in Madigan’s authority. Madigan perceived during the conversation that Murray was asking her to stop an investigation, according to court documents.
Ultimately, Baltimore County paid $100,000 to settle and pay fees for Murray’s attorney, Andrew Levy.
The investigation, which ultimately cost the county $205,000, shows what happens when a government watchdog pursues a target even after being told by county officials to back off.
Baltimore County’s first inspector general, charged with ferreting out waste and abuse, spent much of her tenure pursuing Murray through the legal system. A sitting inspector general suing a former employee is unusual, if not unprecedented, according to legal experts.
In addition to paying $100,00 to settle the case, the county paid $80,000 to an attorney it hired to represent Madigan, according to documents obtained through a public records request. The county also paid the Saul Ewing law firm $24,998 to complete the Murray report, according to public records.
Madigan pushed for an investigation into Murray’s conduct, court records show. Once she realized there was no policy defining abuse, she wrote one. The county later hired Saul Ewing to investigate Murray, and it determined he committed abuse based on the policy Madigan wrote after the meeting.
Murray called the investigation and subsequent report baseless and frivolous, and said it intended to “send a message to other employees that they would be punished if they crossed [Madigan] in any way.”
That report was completed in November 2023. Two years and many court filings later, the case was sealed at the county’s request. The county said it didn’t want to embarrass “Employee A,” although Murray has always said he didn’t ask for protection.
But last month county officials told the judge they no longer sought to keep the case closed after The Banner’s stories revealed the existence of the sealed case.
Madigan, now the inspector general of Howard County, did not return several calls and texts for comment. County attorney James Benjamin declined to comment.
Levy said he remains perplexed by how things got this far. “There are an endless number of things with this case that I have never understood.”
A contentious meeting
Murray asked Madigan to go to coffee on March 30, 2021. A colleague had told him Madigan’s questions about an influential developer’s tennis barn made him uncomfortable.
David Cordish wanted to build the barn on his Northern Baltimore County estate. Cordish, who is The Banner’s landlord, sought to bypass a required hearing for a variance.
Some employees of the county’s real estate office objected to the fast-tracking, according to news reports. Cordish ultimately scrapped the plans.
Murray and Madigan were on friendly terms. He had recommended she be hired, and she was appointed in January 2020. But the March 30 meeting at the Towson Bun Shop was tense, court documents show.
Murray told Madigan he was unsure what she was working on but that she should wrap up the inquiry quickly because county staff members were getting anxious. Madigan left the meeting upset. She told her deputy, Steve Quisenberry, that Murray was abusing his position and trying to shut down an investigation.
Embarrassing ‘Employee A’
In June 2022, Quisenberry told Murray the inspector general was investigating the meeting with Madigan the year before.
Benjamin eventually contracted the Saul Ewing law firm for $24,998 — $2 under the threshold for reporting it to the County Council. Saul Ewing attorney Mark Simanowith interviewed Madigan, Murray and Quisenberry and concluded Murray had abused his position.
Murray said Simanowith should have interviewed more people and wasn’t impartial because he was reporting to Madigan.
Simanowith revised the report. It said, even though a policy on abuse hadn’t been in place, Murray had abused his position.
County Administrative Officer Stacy Rodgers told Madigan the county wasn’t interested in pursuing further action because Murray had left his job in September 2022. Rodgers’ successor, D’Andrea Walker, said the same.
But, in March 2024, Rodgers — at Madigan’s request — sought council approval for a five-year, $750,000 contract with Karpinski, Cornbrooks & Karp. The work included helping the inspector general’s office with legal research.
The next month, Cornbrooks sued Murray on Madigan’s behalf.
Several council members told The Banner they were unaware of the lawsuit or the Saul Ewing report until the case was settled. Even after Benjamin briefed them, a few assumed it was Murray who sued.
The two sides volleyed for months until the judge brought them into chambers to work it out. Murray settled for a fraction of his attorney’s fees to put it behind him, he said.
Madigan’s departure
While public support was coalescing around Madigan, county officials turned against her. In the spring of last year, County Executive Kathy Klausmeier said she would not reappoint Madigan and nominated someone else. Hundreds of residents flocked to the Old Towson Courthouse to protest.
When council members backed Madigan, Klausmeier said she could stay until a new county executive took office in January 2027.
Instead, Madigan left for Howard County in early 2026. Quisenberry was one of seven people on the search committee, a position he secured because Madigan recommended him to a Howard County Council member. Madigan then named Quisenberry inspector general in Baltimore County, a move the county reversed.
One of the Howard County inspector general board members later filed an ethics complaint because of Quisenberry’s ties to Madigan. It was dismissed.
Quisenberry, who remains deputy inspector general, is retiring this month. Klausmeier is unlikely to name a permanent replacement, leaving it to the incoming county executive.
Murray, who now works for Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater, said he is glad the case is in the open. He accused county officials of trying “to bury my allegations of their malfeasance and incompetence.”
Added Murray: “I hope this will catalyze a serious conversation about holding current officials accountable for their role in this fiasco.”
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