In March 2009, Jayne Miller of WBAL Baltimore 11 reported that Steele's Senate campaign made four payments for "political consulting" in October and November 2006 to the company Allied Berton, totaling more than $64,000; the company also received more than $350,000 during the same period from campaign committees controlled by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich and the Maryland Republican party. Allied Berton's business, according to its website, was trading commodities, such as minerals, metals, coffee and sugar. According to Miller's report, the owner of the firm, Sandy Roberts, hosted a tribute to Michael Steele in New York during the 2004 Republican National Convention and was the beneficiary of an Ehrlich-Steele administration action which paved the way for a multiple-outlet retail concession at Baltimore Washington International Airport. A Steele spokesman said only that his campaign complied with all Federal Election Commission regulations.
