State Rep. Thomas Wright told two agents with the State Bureau of Investigation that he pocketed $8,900 intended for a charitable foundation he was starting, according to testimony Wednesday.

SBI Special Agent-in-Charge Johnnie Umphlet testified before a House panel about two interviews that he and another agent conducted with Wright in September and October, David Ingram reports.

During those interviews, they asked Wright what he did with three corporate checks made out to the Community's Health Foundation.

"He advised that he deposited those checks into his personal bank account," Umphlet testified, "as a payment for his services in trying to get the foundation started, that he had done a lot of work and put
in a lot of hours trying to get the foundation started, and had put in a lot of sweat equity."

Wright told the agents he did not have a log of his work, but that he had made phone calls, traveled and incurred other expenses, Umphlet said. 

One of Wright's attorneys, Irving Joyner, questioned the authenticity of the checks and of the letters bearing Wright's name that requested the donations. He also asked Umphlet about his process for taking and transcribing notes.

Joyner attempted to ask Umphlet about a "$50,000 slush fund" that he said Wright might have had access to. Senior Deputy Attorney General William Hart, a lawyer for the House panel, objected to the question, and Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat and the panel's chairman, ruled that the question was not relevant.

At least two lobbyists helped state Rep. Thomas Wright get a $1,500 check from AT&T, according to testimony Monday.

John Policastro, a former AT&T lobbyist, testified about the money before a legislative committee that is hearing ethics charges against Wright, a Wilmington Democrat, David Ingram reports.

Wright sent an "invoice" to Policastro and AT&T in 2003, asking for a $1,500 payment, and Policastro said he then forwarded the request to superiors because he did not have authority to make the payment. Wright got the check, and investigators say he pocketed the money.

The charity, known as The Community's Health Foundation, did not have IRS approval as a tax-exempt organization. Policastro said he was under the impression that it did.

"I would have not passed this along if I had known it was not a 501(c)(3) organization," he said.

But before Wright sent the invoice, he spoke with another AT&T lobbyist, Larry Bewley, about the possibility of getting a contribution, Policastro said.

More after the jump.

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Thomas Wright is in trouble for work he supposedly did for charity.

In the indictments, the Wilmington Democrat is charged with obtaining property by means of a false pretense for:

* Persuading state employee Torlen Wade to write a letter stating that the state Office of Rural Health would commit a $150,000 grant to renovate a historic building in Wilmington.

* Soliciting a $5,000 donation from Anheuser-Bush Companies, $2,400 from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, and $1,500 from AT&T Corp. for the Community's Health Foundation, then using the money for personal expenses.

* Obtaining a $9,980 loan from South East Community Credit Union for the Community's Health Foundation, then using the money for personal expenses.

* Spending $185,000 worth of campaign donations on personal expenses.