Two men have been charged in a bribery scheme involving an ethanol business and an official in the state's environmental regulatory agency.

Federal indictments against David Lee Brady, 75, of Raleigh and James Albert Perry Jr., 62, of Wake Forest were unsealed Tuesday. The men were among a group who formed a company called Agri-Ethanol Products of Raleigh. The company planned to build a $220 million ethanol plant in Eastern North Carolina. That plant was never built.

A former state offficial, Boyce Allen Hudson, has already pleaded guilty in the case. Hudson, a former official with the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, admitted that he agreed to try to ensure smooth environmental permitting for the company in exchange for a $196,000 consulting contract.

Brady and Perry appeared in federal court in handcuffs for an arraignment before U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle. Brady's bail was set at $50,000 and Perry's was set at $25,000. The men will not be held in jail while they await resolution of the cases.

The men are each charged with extortion, conspiracy and bribery. Brady also faces three counts of perjury and one count of making a false statement to federal agents. Perry is charged with two counts of perjury.

State officials dispute that Hudson had any direct influence over the permitting process.

The N.C. Republican Party wants to see what public records exist that might link Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue to two campaign contributors involved in a corruption scandal.

Party officials said today they're filing a request for public records from Perdue's office. Among other things, they're looking for communication between the office and four individuals, including Barry Lee Green and Ricky Wright, David Ingram reports.

The two campaign contributors were investors in an ethanol company that is at the center of a bribery scheme. Boyce Allen Hudson, a former state official, has said he made a deal with the ethanol company in which he would help with the environmental permitting process in exchange for $100,000 cash and a consulting contract worth almost $100,000.

Hudson was sentenced last week to three years in federal prison. Republicans said they want records related to him, too.

Perdue is the Democratic nominee for N.C. governor. Last week, her campaign returned two contributions from Green and Wright.

Green and Wright have not been accused of wrongdoing.

Boyce Allen Hudson, who worked for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, pleaded guilty to the charges in May and agreed to aid an ongoing federal investigation.

In addition to his prison and probation, Hudson was ordered by U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle to pay $35,000 in fines and $15,000 in restitution to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Hudson, 67, admitted that in 2004 he offered to guarantee a permit for Agri-Ethanol Products of Raleigh in exchange for $100,000 in cash and a consulting contract worth as much as another $108,000.

State officials have disputed the level of influence Hudson would have had over permitting.

A little reminiscing probably never hurt, which may be why state Sen. A.B. Swindell began his character letter by talking about a duck hunt the senator and the judge shared. Swindell, a Nash County Democrat, is a 25-year friend to Boyce Allen Hudson, who is scheduled for sentencing today on charges related to a bribery scheme.

Swindell, unlike the others who wrote letters on Hudson's behalf, began with a little memory lane for U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle.

I shall never forget the time you and I spent together duck hunting in Hyde County. I miss Daddy so much — he [sic] such a friend to so many. I trust your family is doing well — please tell Tom I said hello and that Mother is doing well at the Methodist retirement home in Greenville.

Maybe the nostalgia will help.

Sentencing for a former state official who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a bribery scheme has been delayed until October.

Boyce Allen Hudson pleaded guilty in May to charges related to a scheme in which he promised to help an ethanol company get its permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Hudson was an official with the department, although he was not affiliated with the permitting section.

As part of his plea, Hudson agreed to help investigators with any other cases.

Court records show that on July 9, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle entered a sealed order in the case. Also on that day, Hudson's sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for later this month, was postponed until some time in October.

A top state official and a long-serving mayor weighed in four years ago on behalf of a proposed ethanol plant that has recently emerged at the center of a federal corruption investigation.

Records subpoenaed by federal investigators — and released to The News & Observer in response to a request under the state’s public records law — show that in September 2005, Norris Tolson, then the head of the state revenue department, and Tom Richter, the long-time mayor of Washington Park, called the head of the state environmental agency to urge speedy approval of permits for an ethanol plant in Beaufort County.

Both men said in interviews that they were unaware of Agri-Ethanol Products’ plans to bribe a different state official and that they were only asking the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to give the permit fair consideration. Neither Tolson nor Richter were named on a subpoena delivered to the state environmental agency.

Boyce Allen Hudson, a former official with the state agency, pleaded guilty last week to extortion and money laundering charges arising from the case.

An e-mail message produced in response to the subpoena shows that Tolson and Richter got the attention of Bill Ross, secretary of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Ross sent an e-mail message to a subordinate, asking her to update Tolson and Richter about the project.

A federal prosecutor said during Hudson’s plea hearing last week that investigators got wind of Hudson’s actions when company officials began boasting to potential investors that they had political connections. Officials at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources have said that Hudson had no influence on the permits, which they say were decided on the facts.

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State Sen. A.B. Swindell won't return $300 in campaign contributions he has received from Boyce Allen Hudson, a former state official who admitted to soliciting a bribe.

Swindell, a Nashville Democrat, said he has known Hudson for more than 25 years and considers him a friend. Hudson's wife, Maureen Hudson, is an assistant in Swindell's senate office. Hudson pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to extortion and money laundering. The charges arose from a scheme in which Hudson promised to guarantee a permit for an ethanol company in exchange for cash and a two-year consulting contract.

"I certainly don't cast my friends in a ditch," Swindell said. "This plea was between him and the courts. Obvously, my relationship with him has been as a friend and a professional."

On Friday, the state Republican Party issued a news release calling on Swindell to return the contributions: $100 given in 2000 and $200 given in 2008.

"Though Sen. Swindell may not have known of Boyce Hudson’s illegal activity, he badly misjudged the man’s character. Sen. Swindell should return his tainted money immediately," state GOP chariwoman Linda Daves said in a statement.

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Bill Ross, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said a former official who admitted to soliciting a bribe, didn't have any influence over permits.

Ross released a statement Thursday about Boyce Allen Hudson, 67, a former employee who admitted in federal court to extortion and money laundering charges.

I am saddened by the unlawful actions by one of our former employees. Hudson’s actions violated the honor code and values that we expect to guide the actions of every employee as they serve the citizens of North Carolina. However, I am confident that permitting processes within DENR have been and will continue to be carried out with the utmost professionalism, attention to the letter of the law, and with care for the health, well-being and benefit of all.

Hudson admitted Tuesday that in 2004 he offerred to guarantee a permit for Agri-Ethanol Products of Raleigh in exchange for $100,000 in cash and a consulting contract worth another $108,000. Ross said in his statement that Hudson didn't have the authority or influence to affect permitting. His job didn't involve lobbying, as federal prosecutors have said.

Prosectuors made much of the fact that Agri-Ethanol got a clean air permit within a month. Ross said in his statement that he Division of Air Quality is required by state rules to issue the type of air permit relevant to this case within 90 days. The average turnournd time has been 35 days, Ross said.

A Raleigh company's bragging about its bribes to investors led to a guilty plea today.

Investors and officials with Agri-Ethanol needed lots of cash to build a $220 million plant, so they told investors that they had bribed a state environmental official who had helped them get a permit in 29 days, Ben Niolet and Titan Barksdale report.

One investor called federal investors who eventually had an undercover FBI agent pay the official, Boyce Allen Hudson. Hudson pleaded guilty to public corruption charges today.  

Key to raising more money was a guaranteed air quality permit from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, explained assistant U.S. Attorney John Bruce in court.

Company officials and investors had a lunch meeting with Hudson in 2004 at a Raleigh restaurant. Hudson had become a lobbyist for the state environment department. Hudson and the company's chief executive agreed that for $100,000 in cash and a 2-year consulting contract worth nearly an additional $100,000, Hudson would help.

State officials said last week that Hudson's efforts did not influence the permitting process.

U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle said he found it interesting that the company would brag about a bribe in a sales pitch.

"Is that the sort of thing you want to put in a prospectus?" Boyle asked.