​Senator Nathaniel Thomas Oaks Resigns

BALTMORE, MD — Senator Nathaniel Thomas Oaks has resigned from the Maryland General Assembly. He made his resignation official Thursday morning ahead of his appearance in federal court on bribery charges.

At U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Oaks pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud.

From April to September 2016, Oaks admitted he accepted payments totaling more than $15,000 from an FBI informant posing as a developer in exchange for using his position to help obtain federal funds. Oaks was a Maryland state delegate at the time.

Authorities said they tried to use Oaks in another investigation that he compromised. Although he said that he would cooperate, he admitted in his guilty plea that he approached one of the targets of the investigation at an Annapolis bar and tipped him off on St. Patrick's Day 2017, stating: "...what we talked about, just say no," to keep the person from participating in the activity that was the subject of the investigation. He also approached the person in a government building in Annapolis and said: "I'm going to ask you for something; just say no," officials said.

Federal prosecutors said that as a result of his actions, Oaks made the investigation, which may have involved other politicians, no longer viable.

Oaks faces a maximum of 40 years in prison; he could get up to 20 years for one count of wire fraud and 20 years for one count of honest services wire fraud.

Sentencing for Oaks is slated for 11 a.m. on July 17 at the federal court in Baltimore.

RELATED: Maryland Politician Charged For Accepting Money From 'Developer,' U.S. Attorney Says

This is not the first time the politician's finances have come under scrutiny.

Oaks was a delegate from 1994 until February 2017, when he was appointed to the Maryland Senate for a seat in the same district — District 41 (Baltimore City) — after Senator Lisa Gladden resigned for health reasons.

But he had another run as a delegate decades prior; Oaks had served in the House of Delegates from 1983 to 1989. In 1988 Oaks was convicted for stealing thousands of dollars from his reelection fund in Baltimore City Circuit Court. He was given a five-year suspended sentence plus three years of probation and had to pay $1,000 and do 500 hours of community service. He lost his seat as a delegate due to a conviction on charges of theft and misconduct in office.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Photo courtesy of Maryland State Archives.