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HER VICTORY IN 2016. OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS OF 2016, CATHERINE PUGH REPORTED RAISING NEARLY $300,000 IN HER CAMPAIGN TO BECOME BALTIMORE MAYOR. A BIG DONATION WAS REPORTED TO HAVE COME FROM A MAN WHO LIVED IN A SECOND-FLOOR APARTMENT IN FELLS POINT. CAMPAIGN RECORDS SHOW HE WROTE A CHECK FOR $6,000 ON MARCH 15 THAT YEAR. BUT TODAY BY PHONE HE SAID HE WAS A DISHWASHER FOR A LITTLE ITALY RESTAURANT MAKING MINIMUM WAGE PLUS TIPS. DO YOU REMEMBER MAKING A PAYMENT TO A POLITICAL CANDIDATE IN 2016 I ASKED AND HE ANSWERED NO. DID YOU HAVE $6,000 IN THAT TIME? NO, HE SAID. MAYBE TWO OR 3000, NEVER 6000. HIS BOSS HAD ASKED HIM TO DO A FAVOR BY GIVING HIS EVERY CARD NUMBER BUT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. THE CAMPAIGN REPORTED RECEIVING OTHER MYSTERIOUS DONATIONS. ANONYMOUS WAS REPORTED TO HAVE MADE A $3000 PAYMENT BY CREDIT CARD. NO OTHER DETAIL INCLUDED. A COMPANY BEARING HAS EARNED QS NAME WAS REPORTED TO HAVE CONTRIBUTED $6,000 TO THE CAMPAIGN. STATE BUSINESS RECORDS SHOW NO LISTING OF THAT COMPANY. LAST WEEK, INVESTIGATORS SEIZED RECORDS FROM HER HOUSES AND TOOK RECORDS FROM THE LAWYER WHO SERVED AS HER 2016 CAMPAIGN TREASURER. THEY TOOK RECORDS FROM GARY BROWN, PROSECUTED BY THE STATE FOR FUNNELING MONEY TO THE PEW CAMPAIGN THROUGH RELATIVES AREA THE STATE DID NOT LEARN THE SOURCE OF THAT MONEY. THE FBI HAS PUT UP BILLBOARDS IN THE BALTIMORE AREA SEEKING INFORMATION ABOUT PUBLIC CORRUPTION. A SPOKESMAN SAYS THE AGENCY HAS GOTTEN

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The 11 News I-Team is raising new questions about Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh's money trail, which helped fuel her campaign victory in 2016.This comes as Pugh remains on leave.Over the first three months of 2016, Pugh reported raising nearly $300,000 in her campaign to become Baltimore mayor.A big donation was reported to have come from a man who lived in a second-floor apartment in Fells Point. Campaign records show he wrote a check for $6,000 on March 15, 2016.On Tuesday, the man told the 11 News I-Team by phone that he was a dishwasher for a restaurant in Little Italy, making minimum wage plus tips. When asked if he remembers making a payment to a political candidate in 2016, he said, no. When asked if he had $6,000 at that time, he said no and that he might have had $2,000 or $3,000, but never $6,000.The man said his boss had asked him to do a favor by giving his debit card number, but he doesn't know what happened after that.The Pugh campaign reported receiving other mysterious donations. "Anonymous" was reported to have made a $3,000 payment by credit card. No other details were included.And a company bearing Pugh's name was reported to have contributed $6,000 to the campaign. State business records show no listing of the company.Last week, FBI and IRS investigators seized records from Pugh's houses. They also took records from the lawyer who served as her 2016 campaign treasurer and from Gary Brown, who was prosecuted by the state for funneling money to the Pugh campaign through relatives in 2017. The state did not learn the source of the money.As the I-Team reported Monday, Pugh's campaign, it appears, is in the process of shutting down. Its chair said the campaign is deciding what to do with the money, which currently amounts to nearly $1 million.