Silence, Shadow Jobs, and Water Money: A Growing Ethics Crisis in Prince George’s County
When government refuses to answer simple questions, it invites far more serious ones.
What We Know
• Prince George’s County has refused to disclose the job title, job duties, or salary range for the county position held by Edward Burroughs’ father, despite multiple requests for information that is ordinarily public under Maryland law.
• Under Maryland’s Public Information Act, public employee salaries and job descriptions are generally required to be disclosed, and counties routinely do so.
• Multiple sources inside county government describe the position as carrying six-figure compensation, commonly estimated between $120,000 and $150,000, possibly more depending on classification and benefits.
• There is no publicly documented scope of work associated with the position. No reports, deliverables, or visible departmental outputs have been identified.
• The position is described by multiple sources as being tied to water or environmental maintenance, an area that in Prince George’s County is heavily intertwined with state and federal funding, including EPA-linked programs.
• Prince George’s County is reportedly under EPA scrutiny related to environmental or grant-funded activities, a process handled by the EPA’s own enforcement and investigative authorities, not the FBI.
• EPA investigations operate independently. Cooperation with the FBI on unrelated matters provides no immunity or protection from EPA enforcement actions.
• Separately, Senator Anthony Muse has been informed by the joint House and Senate Ethics Committee that he cannot continue holding a county job while serving in the General Assembly.
• Public reporting indicates Muse’s county position pays approximately $170,000 annually, compared to roughly $55,000 for his Senate salary.
• If Muse is forced to choose, financial reality strongly favors the county job, creating a real possibility of Senate resignation, which would immediately elevate Antonio Driver, already filed as a candidate, to front-runner status.
What We Do Not Know
• The official job title held by Edward Burroughs’ father.
• The specific job duties, scope of responsibility, or reporting structure for the position.
• The exact salary, pay range, or funding source for the position, including whether any portion is tied to state or federal environmental grants.
• Whether time and effort documentation exists for the role, as required for federally funded positions.
• Whether the position was competitively posted, how many applicants were considered, and what qualifications were evaluated.
• Whether any EPA-funded programs, stormwater projects, water reclamation efforts, or developer mitigation agreements intersect with this employment.
• The scope, timeline, or targets of any ongoing EPA inquiry involving Prince George’s County.
rather than routine transparency.
Why This Matters
This is not about proving wrongdoing.
It is about identifying risk.
When a county obscures basic employment facts, particularly in areas tied to federal environmental funding, it exposes itself to serious legal, financial, and political consequences.
When similar ethics issues emerge simultaneously, as in the Anthony Muse case, they reveal a broader structural problem rather than isolated incidents.
The Bottom Line: A county job with:
undisclosed duties
undisclosed pay
no public accountability
and reported six-figure compensation
is not just bad optics.
It is a governance failure.
It is a legal risk.
And if federal water or environmental funds are involved, it may be unlawful.
Prince George’s County can resolve this simply.
Disclose the job.
Disclose the pay.
Disclose the work.
Until then, silence will continue to speak louder than any press release.