Linda Daves says Thomas Wright's troubles are not "an isolated incident."

In a statement today, the chairwoman of the N.C. Republican Party said that the former state representative's conviction on three counts of fraud are part of a problem with "entrenched Democrat power" in Raleigh.

Democrats have spent far too much time in courtrooms on the wrong side of justice instead of working for the interests of those who elected them.  The fact that Mr. Wright used his position in the General Assembly to commit fraud is unacceptable.  The fact that he did so by pocketing funds intended to be used for the benefit of the people of North Carolina is among the most egregious and reprehensible betrayals of the public trust.

She said that Republicans and Democrats should work together to "end the culture of corruption in Raleigh." 

Speaker Joe Hackney has released a statement on the conviction of former Rep. Thomas Wright:

"For many years, Thomas Wright was a champion for people who often couldn't help themselves, but that doesn't excuse him from having to follow the law. The House of Representatives appropriately expelled him for his unethical behavior. Now, separately, a jury has determined he behaved illegally. I regret that his legislative career ended this way, but I look forward to moving ahead in our chamber and making sure the people of District 18 get the representation they deserve." 

A Wake Superior Court judge today sentenced former Rep. Thomas Wright to 70 to 95 months in prison after his conviction on three felony counts of fraud.

Wright was kicked out of the state House last month because of allegations that he used his political sway to obtain a bogus letter from a state official to get a $150,000 bank loan, Sarah Ovaska reports.

Wake prosecutors also accused him of pocketing three charitable contributions, totaling $8,900.

Jurors convicted him of fraudulently taking the loan and $7,400 in charitable conditions. They acquitted him of one fraud count.

Before the sentencing, Wright's attorney, Doug Harris, blamed the verdict on the publicity surrounding the case.

"They were prejudiced coming in," Harris said about the jurors.

Harris gave notice that he would appeal Wright's conviction and predicted that the jury's decision would be overturned.

Wright was sentenced by Judge Henry Hight, who presided over the trial.

Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that Wright was led away in handcuffs. That is inaccurate.

A jury has convicted former Rep. Thomas Wright of three counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.

He was acquitted of a fourth count.

Update: According to the Associated Press, Wright was charged with pocketing $8,900 in donations to his Community's Health Foundation and fraudulently obtaining a $150,000 loan to buy a building for health care offices and a museum. The charge on which he was acquitted related to a donation of $1,500 from AT&T. 

John Roberts died a broken man.

The Carteret County resident was elected to the state House of Commons in 1804 and served 12 terms before being chosen for the Senate in 1816, according to "The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography," edited by William S. Powell.

In 1814, Roberts served as an assistant paymaster general for his district's state militia during the War of 1812. It proved his undoing.

In December of 1816, the General Assembly received several petitions from militiamen who complained that they weren't paid by him.

A joint legislative committee found evidence of forgery and fraud and Roberts was expelled. After several years in jail and two trials, Roberts was released in 1822 and pardoned by the governor.

"Roberts never fully recovered from his ordeal, and court records from his home county suggested that he was dead by March 1823," the book notes.

Hat Tip: Lamara Hackett 

William Gilbert was kicked out of the House for fraud.

Born in Ireland, Gilbert moved to Western North Carolina in 1760 and became the largest landholder in Tryon (now Rutherford) County in an area that came to be known as Gilbert Town.

In 1779, he represented the area in the General Assembly, according to William S. Powell's "Dictionary of North Carolina Biography":

Later that year, after a six-month inquiry, he was expelled from the Assembly for "intentionally defrauding the publick." 

Nevertheless, Powell notes, he was immediately re-elected and served  until 1783.

Gilbert later worked as a justice of the peace, and his home did double-duty as a tavern and the county seat. The General Assembly found him guilty of forgery and removed him from the post. 

He moved to South Carolina, where his fortunes soured. He lost "a great deal of his property" and his children died in epidemics, Powell notes.