Former Md. Gov. Marvin Mandel Lies in Repose at Maryland State House

Gov. Larry Hogan and other Maryland officials received family members of former Gov. Marvin Mandel at the Maryland State House on Wednesday.

Mandel, who died Sunday at age 95, is lying in repose at the capitol for a public viewing from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Annapolis.

"There's no doubt in my mind that his legacy will live on in the minds and hearts and soul of those he touched over the many years," Hogan said of the former governor.

The casket of former Gov. Marvin Mandel is brought into the Maryland State House on Wednesday morning.

Mandel's funeral, which will also be open to the public, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at Sol Levinson & Bros. Funeral Home in Pikesville, followed by internment at Lakemont Memorial Garden in Davidsonsville.

Mandel was in office from 1969 to 1979, but he was convicted of corruption in 1977 and served 19 months in federal prison. That conviction was later overturned, and Mandel became a powerful lobbyist in Annapolis.

"Long after any personal controversies are forgotten, the state of Maryland will still be better because of his service and his contribution," said former Gov. Parris Glendening.

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Once considered one of Maryland's most powerful and effective governors, Mandel, a Democrat, presided over a major reorganization of state government, built a subway in Baltimore and spent $1 billion on school construction.

Democratic lawmakers developed close relationships with Mandel.

"He moved the state forward in terms of the environment, health care, and building schools," Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., said.

Mandel was willing to work closely with Republicans, too, sharing his knowledge and experience.

"We had a very strong relationship with the governor," said former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. "He was very helpful to me and my office."

But Mandel's accomplishments were overshadowed by his personal tribulations, which included his trial and a messy divorce when he moved out of the governor's mansion, leaving his first wife behind so he could marry another woman.

He was convicted in 1977 along with five co-defendants of mail fraud and racketeering. The charges stemmed from what prosecutors said was a complex scheme in which Mandel was given money and favors for vetoing one bill and signing another to help his friends make money on a horse racing track deal.

President Ronald Reagan commuted Mandel's prison sentence to time served in 1981. Mandel steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and said he was vindicated when his conviction was overturned.

"I said then, and I say now, that I never did anything illegal as governor of Maryland," Mandel wrote in his 2010 book, "I'll Never Forget It: Memoirs of a Political Accident from East Baltimore."

He had two children from his first marriage: a son, Gary, and a daughter, Ellen.

Mandel's family says he shared a crab feast and watched the Ravens Redskins game the night before he died.

"He had two loves in his life," said his stepson Paul Dorsey. "His family and the State of Maryland."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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