In March of 2016, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with the Department of Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM), initiated a criminal investigation involving a former LUGM employee who allegedly completed numerous building, plumbing, gas, and electrical inspections without the proper certifications, in violation of the International Residential Code, International Building Code, and the Annotated Code of Maryland.
The investigation revealed, Brian Richley Taylor (Age 40 of Clements, MD) was employed as the Code Coordinator within the Department of Land Use and Growth Management from 2009 through March of 2016. As the Code Coordinator, Brian Taylor directly supervised and managed the County’s process for issuing Certificates of Occupancy after all necessary inspections and certifications were met for each building permit which includes: building, electric, plumbing, and gas inspections. Such inspections are beyond the official scope of Brian Taylor’s official duties and require certifications that he did not, nor has ever, possessed as the Code Coordinator or in any other professional capacity.
Brian Taylor, on his own accord and without the approval or knowledge of his superiors performed, or at minimum, certified inspections for several premises within St. Mary’s County, to include residential and commercial structures. In St. Mary’s County, inspections related to building, electric, gas, and plumbing are performed by businesses operating in the private sector that employs individuals who are certified to perform such inspections.
At the conclusion of an extensive audit and inspection of LUGM records, more than fifty permit numbers were identified as having illegal inspections completed by Brian Taylor. After reviewing those files, six permit numbers were identified as having inspections for building, gas, plumbing, and electric completed by Taylor within the past year. As the result of Brian Taylor’s actions, several dwellings in St. Mary’s County were not adequately inspected during multiple phases of construction, thereby endangering the life and safety of the occupants who inhabited the structures with the presumption the dwelling was inspected by a certified, licensed building inspector, master electrician, and master plumber.
After reviewing the investigation with State’s Attorney Richard Fritz, the facts of the case were presented to the Grand Jury for St. Mary’s County and an indictment was returned charging Brian Taylor with six counts of Reckless Endangerment.
Inquiries should be directed to Captain Daniel D. Alioto, Commander of Vice/Narcotics, at 301-475-4200, ext. *1918.
