THURMONT, Md. — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said that he is prohibited from taking any action to secure and clean up a troubled Frederick property where the body of a murdered 19-year-old was found, even though he owns a fraction of the development firm that controls the land.
On Friday, Hogan said under an agreement with Maryland's ethics commission, he is prohibited from any involvement with the companies he has an interest in or properties that the companies own, including the abandoned property where Curtis Mason Smith was discovered in his car Sunday.
“I have no information or knowledge whatsoever about the property," Hogan said. "Seven years ago, when I was elected governor, I was required to put all the stock interest I held in any company into a blind trust that's overseen by the Ethics Commission. I'm not allowed to talk to any of them about any properties. I'm prohibited from knowing anything about it."
According to state property and corporate records, the 13-acre property where Smith's body was discovered is owned by a development firm operated by Hogan’s brother as resident agent.
The company, Better World Builders LLC, is 25% owned by the governor himself and shares the same address with Annapolis-based "Hogan Companies," according to reporting by the Baltimore Sun.
But Hogan has stepped aside at his family’s real estate companies and put his assets into a trust in compliance with the ethics agreement.
The derelict farm near the intersection of Runnymeade Drive and Poole Jones Road in Frederick was a significant community concern even before the murder case, according to residents.
The father of the murder victim is demanding action.
"I just hope that this community, the county, the owners of this property, clean it up so that no other bad things can happen here," Zachary Smith said at a press conference Thursday. "It's been known. It shouldn't be here anymore."
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Nearby residents complain the property has been abandoned since the arrest and conviction for medical fraud of Frederick Doctor Michael Tauraso, according to court records. Tauraso died in 2016. The property is the site of a burned-out and vandalized mansion where the doctor once lived, neighbors said
It’s now on the market for $1.6 million and brokered by a division of the “Hogan Companies,” according to multiple online real estate listings. The current President of the "Hogan Companies” is Timothy Hogan, the governor’s brother.
Timothy Hogan has not responded to WUSA9’s requests for comment.