Associated Press
Tuesday, February 12, 2002; Page B06

TOWSON, Md. -- Walter S. Orlinsky, 63, a colorful Baltimore politician who pleaded guilty in 1982 to accepting a bribe, died of colon cancer Feb. 9 in the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care here.

Mr. Orlinsky, a Democrat, was City Council president in the spring of 1982 when he went to a restaurant in Baltimore's Little Italy and accepted an envelope stuffed with $2,532 in cash from an FBI informant.

It was an installment on a $10,032 bribe from Modern Earthline of Philadelphia for Mr. Orlinsky's role in helping it win a contract hauling sludge to abandoned strip mines in Western Maryland.

He resigned his post in September 1982 and pleaded guilty to one count of extortion. He served 4 1/2 months in prison.

After his release, Mr. Orlinsky worked in a variety of jobs, including co-teaching a course on politics at Towson University, working as maitre d' at a seafood restaurant and selling lemonade at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for $10 an hour.

He returned to government in 1988, when then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer appointed him executive director of a state program to plant trees.

Two years ago, Mr. Orlinsky received a pardon from President Bill Clinton. Mr. Orlinsky was born in Baltimore. He spent his teenage years in New York where his father, Harry Orlinsky, was a prominent biblical scholar who later studied the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Walter Orlinsky was described as an urban liberal who was full of ideas and energy and liked to wear wide-lapeled, colorful tweed sports jackets and the occasional derby hat.

He was elected to the House of Delegates from Baltimore's 2nd District in 1966 and was elected Baltimore City Council president in 1971. He made an unsuccessful run for governor in 1978.

As council president, Mr. Orlinsky clashed frequently with Schaefer, who was then Baltimore's mayor. The two eventually learned to work together.

"He was one of the brightest men I have ever known in the history of politics," said Schaefer, who is now Maryland's comptroller. "He had some tough times, but he was a good guy, a good friend."

© 2002 The Washington Post Company