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This, from WBAL in Baltimore. It seems Hell Hath No Fury . . .

Ehrlich Aides' Romance Ends Before Rumor Dispute
Governor Calls Into Question Internet Blogger's Identity

POSTED: 6:19 pm EST March 28, 2005
UPDATED: 7:00 pm EST March 28, 2005

BALTIMORE -- E-mail messages detail a romantic relationship between two aides to the governor that abruptly ended before one was fired, the WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team has learned.

Previous reports have shown Gov. Bob Ehrlich (center) and Joseph Steffen (right), but now the entire picture -- with Michelle Lane (left) -- emerges amid an investigation into the governor's hiring and firing practices.

Michelle Lane once dated Joe Steffen, who was a longtime aide to Gov. Bob Ehrlich. E-mail messages between the two indicate they had an office romance that abruptly ended, WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter David Collins reported.

Steffen resigned in February when it was revealed that he had spread rumors on the Internet about the personal life of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, Collins reported.

The E-Mail Messages

Steffen called Lane "Chelle" and "sweetness." Acquaintances said Lane called Steffen "Steff-fawn," Collins said.

Steffen e-mailed one of his friends about working on his day off: not all business, he wrote, some pleasure. He also wrote that Lane was also working, Collins said.

In other e-mails, Steffen tried to refresh a friend's memory, asking him to recall Lane as his party date.

The tone of the e-mails changed as the relationship appeared to end. Around the same time, as documented in e-mail messages, Lane appeared to grow more frustrated by a lack of reform in the state's foster care system.

The e-mail messages indicate Lane became a disgruntled employee and a whistleblower, Collins reported. Steffen warned colleagues through e-mail messages to be careful with the "MLA situation." He also accused Lane of sending "doctored e-mails."

Baltimore's health commissioner, Dr. Peter Beilenson, said he isn't sure why a former Ehrlich aide spoke to him about another aide.

The 11 News I-Team has uncovered that 11 months before the report broke about the rumors, Lane met with an O'Malley cabinet member under the auspices of foster care, speaking at one point in the conversation about Steffen.

Lane met with Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Peter Beilenson last March. Most of the conversation, he said, dealt with her concerns over the state's foster care system.

"She implied that (Steffen) was sort of, I guess the best term to be used would be like a mole" in the Ehrlich administration, Beilenson said. "I'm not sure why she brought him up to me, there's nothing I can do about it particularly."

Beilenson said he passed the information onto Michael Enright, one of the mayor's closest confidants at City Hall.

Just before 6 p.m. Monday, Enright said he indeed met with Lane. He recalls that she was looking for a job, Collins said. But Enright said the city did not offer a job to Lane.

Enright said Lane also described to him Steffen as "a mole for the Ehrlich administration."

The governor has since tried to focus attention on Lane, who was forced out of the Ehrlich administration last year. She's now threatening to release damaging information about the governor, Collins reported.

Ehrlich repeatedly challenged the media several times last week to expose the identity of an online blog participant, saying that person set up Steffen as part of an orchestrated campaign by Democratic party rivals.

He spoke in reference to the screen name "Md4Bush" -- the name of an Internet blogger who had communicated with Steffen about the mayor's personal life, Collins reported.

For the first time, the mayor spoke publicly about Md4Bush.

"I don't know who the person is that is Md4Bush, who engaged the governor's longtime dirty tricks person into the banter that revealed this," O'Malley said. "If I ever find out, I'm going to give the person a medal, though, because they really ended a lot of pain that the governor put me and my family through for many, many months."

Lane's attorney has yet to return the 11 News I-Team's repeated calls for comment.