(BALTIMORE – November 27, 2025) – The contrast couldn’t be starker in Maryland’s 41st District State Senate race.
On one side: incumbent State Senator Dalya Attar, who pleaded not guilty Monday to federal extortion and conspiracy charges in an alleged blackmail scheme. On the other hand, Delegate Malcolm Ruff, who just secured a stunning $21.5 million jury verdict – including $10 million in punitive damages – against negligent landlords who hired convicted sex offender Jason Billingsley.
Attar’s Legal Troubles Mount
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Attar, her brother Joseph “Yossi” Attar, and Baltimore Police Officer Kalman Finkelstein allegedly conspired to blackmail a political consultant who worked for Attar during her 2018 campaign. The indictment claims the trio secretly filmed the consultant in bed with a married man using cameras disguised as smoke detectors installed in an apartment belonging to Finkelstein’s family.
The alleged scheme aimed to silence the consultant from exposing Attar’s voting record to fellow members of the Orthodox Jewish community before the 2022 election. Four unnamed co-conspirators are also listed in the indictment.
Attar, who was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2018 and filled a state senate vacancy earlier this year, maintains her innocence. “I would never do anything to knowingly jeopardize my constituents’ trust in me,” she said in a statement, calling the case centered on allegations from a “former disgruntled employee.”
All three defendants were released on condition that they surrender their passports.
Ruff Delivers Justice
Meanwhile, Delegate Malcolm Ruff is making headlines for delivering justice rather than defending against allegations of it.
This week, Ruff led his Murphy Falcon Murphy trial team to a $21.5 million verdict on behalf of clients who Jason Billingsley heinously attacked on September 19, 2023. Billingsley, a convicted sex offender, had been negligently hired as a maintenance man by Eden’s Homes, LLC, and Property Pals, LLC – giving him access to tenants’ apartments.
Two days after nearly killing Ruff’s clients, Billingsley murdered Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere, sending shockwaves through the city.
“Today is a resounding message that will be heard across the state and the nation that our communities will not permit landlords to ignore their duty to make every effort to keep tenants safe,” Ruff posted on Instagram after the grueling seven-day trial. “Praise God for delivering the Dub!!!”
The Stakes for District 41
As voters in District 41 watch these developments unfold, the choice becomes increasingly clear: an incumbent senator facing federal charges for allegedly using illegal tactics to silence political opposition, or a delegate using the law to protect vulnerable residents and hold negligent corporations accountable.
Ruff’s victory sends a powerful message about accountability – ironically, the very principle at stake in Attar’s criminal case.
The 2026 race for District 41’s State Senate seat just got a lot more interesting.
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Photo credit: Maryland Matters: Attar, brother, and campaign volunteer charged with reelection extortion plot. Trio accused of secretly recording state senator’s political foe and threatening to release the illicit video.
