TOWSON, MD—The Maryland Republican Party this week urged Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski (D) to resign from office and drop out of the race for Congressional District 2.

Since the existence of a confidential cash settlement first surfaced – hidden from public view through a false name – County Executive Olszewski has sought to distance himself from its recipient, a former firefighter.

“I do not have a close personal relationship with Mr. Philip Tirabassi,” Olsezewski told the Baltimore Sun in the wake of Baltimore Brew reporting disclosing the settlement – and his administration’s push to use $550,000 in public funds to pay outside counsel to defend against a lawsuit seeking details about the retirement payout.

The Maryland Republican Party said in a press release earlier this week that County Executive Olszewski, the Democratic nominee to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, should drop out, following Sun reporting that his administration had secretly paid Tirabassi $83,675 when the firefighter asked to transfer retirement credits from his city service time to his county pension, according to FOX 45. Olszewski told The Sun the county agreed to pay Tirabassi after he threatened to sue for breach of contract despite county officials warning that the payment could violate state and local law.

The Baltimore Brew reports that Olszewski called it “patently false” to suggest that the $83,675 check was a favor to Tirabassi’s younger brother John, a friend and former classmate at Sparrows Point High School.

Complicating the matter further, County attorney Suzanne T. Berger says she was – “100%” – fired for questioning Tirabassi deal.

The full letter from the Maryland GOP can be viewed below.