Rick Mariano, awaiting a June 1 sentencing on corruption charges, is facing up to 10 years for conspiracy, honest-services fraud, money laundering, bribery and filing a false tax return. According to Anne King, administrator for City Council President Anna Verna, Mariano's office will remain open with a skeleton staff. Verna has not yet decided whether she will call a special ballot during this November's general election to fill the seats or wait until the November 2007 general election, when all City Council slots are up for election.

Susan Mariano recently approached Democratic City Committee Chairman and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady about running for Rick's seat, but Brady reportedly talked her out of it.

The petite blonde is currently employed at the firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel as a legal assistant. Brady's office and Susan Mariano did not return calls for comment.

Though Mariano will continue collecting paychecks until he heads off to the federal pen, he is no longer stopping by his City Hall office or attending council sessions, according to his chief of staff, Jay McCalla, who is running the show.

Mariano sent out one last, personal public letter to his constituents, assuring them that his council staff will remain available for constituent services. He credits himself with securing $93 million for housing, youth, veterans and community organizations in the decade he has held office.

"In a complex district with many ethnic groups, I have worked to guarantee that our differences don't become divisions," writes Mariano, who neither admits guilt nor apologizes. "I am not claiming to have been a 'perfect' councilperson. I am simply telling you that I tried and I cared. … I ask for your prayers as I prepare to walk the walk that is before me."

The NAACP has officially withdrawn a 1996 civil-rights suit against the city, a move which will result in the permanent closing of the Police Department's Integrity and Accountability Office (IAO).

The NAACP filed the suit after a federal investigation revealed that police officers in the 39th District were beating, framing and robbing alleged drug dealers. After the arrests and convictions of the offending officers and millions paid out by the city in fines, the court ordered ongoing police monitoring as part of the settlement.

That monitoring was carried out by the IAO. Ellen Green-Ceisler left the position of IAO director in March 2005; Mayor John Street never named a replacement.

NAACP President J. Whyatt Mondesire said police behavior would now be monitored by the independent Police Advisory Commission. Last year, Mondesire said the IAO was no longer useful because the police climate had changed under Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson. That, and he was concerned about high legal costs for the city.

Mondesire and Johnson will be hosting various community meetings in the next several months to inform residents of the change and address any concerns they have. Street's press office did not return calls for comment.

Does anyone want to give money to multimillionaire mayoral candidate Tom Knox? He'll find out next month, as the beneficiary of a fundraiser at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue where the suggested donation is $500 to $2,500. For an outsider to be taken seriously and to gain support, they must have a war chest and Knox is prepared to kick in whatever it takes. A partial list of the who's-who host committee includes Jay Tolson, Victor Negron, designer Karen Daroff, jewelers Tonya and Craig Drake and former Eagle Cecil Martin.

Jan Ting, a professor at Temple University's Beasley School of Law, is running against Delaware's incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Carper. The Wilmington resident and Republican teaches tax, immigration and national security law. He will take a leave of absence next month to campaign full time.

Carper was Delaware's governor until he was elected to the Senate in 2001; Ting is a former assistant commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service who presented expert testimony to the 9/11 Commission. In his issues statement, Ting says he wants to make campaign donations from out-of-state Indian tribal gaming casino interests illegal and accuses Carper of taking such cash. Bonnie Wu, a spokesperson for Carper's campaign, had no comment.