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The University of Maryland Medical System paid $500,000 to buy the self-published books of Baltimore's now disgraced ex-mayor, but there's no evidence any system executives ever read them or that a process was in place to determine their fair market value, an audit released Friday said. The audit comes amid a scandal that rocked the medical system this year and after former Mayor Catherine Pugh, a former board member of the system, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to her “Healthy Holly" books. (12/13)

An audit commissioned by new members of the University of Maryland Medical System’s board of directors has determined that top system officials never read former Mayor Catherine Pugh’s “Healthy Holly” books for children or checked to see if they were printed before paying her $500,000 in five installments. “There is no evidence that any UMMS executive ever read one of the installments to support a belief that the books would serve that population health goal,” concluded the audit, released Friday. (Broadwater, 12/14)