Maryland State Senator Dalya Attar Indicted for Extortion and Conspiracy in Secret Recording Scheme

Maryland State Senator Dalya Attar, the first Orthodox Jewish woman in the state's senate, has been indicted on federal charges including extortion and conspiracy for allegedly plotting to blackmail a former political consultant with secretly recorded footage of her in bed with a married man. The indictment details a multi-year scheme involving Attar, her brother Joseph Attar, and Baltimore police officer Kalman Finkelstein, who allegedly planted recording devices disguised as smoke detectors in the consultant's apartment, which was linked to Finkelstein's family. The group is accused of threatening to release the explicit video to harm the consultant’s reputation and to silence her from making negative comments about Attar’s 2022 campaign. Text messages revealed in the indictment show efforts to use the footage to damage the consultant's daughters’ matchmaking prospects and to coerce the consultant and the married man involved. Attar has denied knowledge of any illegal actions and characterized the charges as stemming from a disgruntled former employee, pledging transparency and to continue serving her community. The case highlights the involvement of campaign staff and a police officer in an alleged extortion plot tied to political disputes within Maryland's Orthodox Jewish community.