As the founder of Tov Pizza, a popular Kosher restaurant on Reisterstown Road that’s been in business for more than four decades, Ronald “Ronnie” Rosenbluth has parlayed his pie-making prowess into political clout.

His younger cousin, City Council member Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer, once called the restaurant “a political clubhouse that sells pizza.” A member of the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee for the 41st District, Rosenbluth, 62, is a fixture in political and Jewish civic circles. The pizzaiolo is a founding member of the Shomrim Baltimore neighborhood watch group and has given thousands to Democratic campaigns.

And now, Rosenbluth is caught up in political scandal. His name appears in a court filing involving Kalman Finkelstein, a suspended Baltimore Police officer who last month was federally indicted alongside state Sen. Dalya Attar and her brother, Joseph Attar.

Prosecutors allege the trio in 2020 secretly recorded Dalya Attar’s former political consultant in bed with a married man and then conspired to blackmail the consultant in order to keep her sidelined in future elections.

As part of the three defendants’ pretrial release, a federal judge ordered them to have no contact with a list of people involved with the case. The list is not public, but a filing from Finkelstein’s attorneys shows that Rosenbluth is on it. Finkelstein’s attorneys asked a judge last week to allow him to be able to speak with Rosenbluth about non-case-related matters, citing the no-contact list as the reason for their request.

“Mr. Finkelstein and Mr. Rosenbluth see one another regularly for Shul, kiddish, and other community and religious events such that a strict no-contact requirement would be virtually impossible for Mr. Finkelstein to comply with,” Finkelstein’s attorneys wrote.

The judge approved the ask, but the filing begs the question: Why was Finkelstein barred from speaking with Rosenbluth in the first place?

“I can’t comment on anything on this case,” Rosenbluth said when reached by phone earlier this week.

“Why not?” a reporter asked.

“I can’t answer,” he said.

It’s not clear what role, if any, Rosenbluth has in this case. The indictment lists four unnamed co-conspirators as having aided the Attars and Finkelstein, but provides few details as to their identities.

Count Baltimore Sheriff Sam Cogen among those who don’t know why Rosenbluth would be on the no-contact list. He hired Rosenbluth two years ago for a role in which he largely addresses landlord and tenant issues.

Cogen, a Democrat, said he was not aware of any allegations against Rosenbluth. “Nobody’s told me anything,” he said.

In the interim, Rosenbluth continues to work for the sheriff’s office. Cogen said he saw him in the office on Monday, the same day Rosenbluth said he was out of state.

“I’m in Florida,” Rosenbluth said, adding that the no-contact order was previously unknown to him. “You’re telling me something new.”

Rosenbluth’s political ties to Attar are less fuzzy. His wife, Sandy, is Attar’s chief of staff. Finance records show that he’s given $9,500 to the Democrat’s campaigns since she first ran for the General Assembly in 2018. That’s more than double what he’s given to Cogen, who’s received the second-most donations from Rosenbluth.

In addition to his work for Cogen and his pizza business, Rosenbluth has taken an active role in community safety. He’s part of a group of Jewish civic and business leaders who, concerned about rising crime in Orthodox neighborhoods, started Shomrim, a volunteer patrol group, in 2005 to deter burglaries and report suspicious people to the police.

“We are committed to fostering a spirit of communal responsibility and support, providing assistance to those in need, and promoting a safe environment for all residents,” the group’s website reads. “Our mission includes a strong focus on public safety, victim advocacy, and leveraging technology through our comprehensive camera project.”

Today Shomrim Baltimore has more than 35 members, according to its website. Rosenbluth previously served as president but stepped down in 2017.