One of two Division of Motor Vehicles officials being investigated over a controversial hire is no longer with the agency.

Purnell Sowell was the supervisor of the License and Theft Bureau's Charlotte district office. DMV spokeswoman Marge Howell said all she knew was that he had left the DMV two days ago, reports Dan Kane.

Sowell, 49, would only say that he is seeking legal advice regarding his exit from the DMV. He had worked nearly 21 years for the state and had an annual salary of $71,867.

Sowell served on an interview panel that was to evaluate candidates for an emissions specialist job.

The position went to James Burgess, a former purchasing clerk at Progress Energy who was a childhood friend of bureau director John Robinson. Passed over was a State Highway Patrol mechanic, Hal Bunn, who had been teaching service station mechanics to do emissions inspections for nearly a decade.

Read more after the jump.

   Comments (3)

The man hired for a state emissions specialist job that prompted an SBI investigation into the Division of Motor Vehicles has put in his two-week notice.

James Burgess, a former purchasing clerk for Progress Energy, won the DMV job last year over a State Highway Patrol mechanic who has been training mechanics to do emissions inspections for roughly a decade, reports Dan Kane. Burgess is a childhood friend of the director who oversees the emissions program, John Robinson.

DMV spokeswoman Marge Howell said Burgess resigned today. She did not know why, and said if she did, she couldn't provide it because the state's personnel law prohibits the release of that information.

DMV Commissioner Bill Gore said earlier this morning that Burgess is an employee in good standing. Gore said he was unaware of any improper conduct on Burgess's part regarding his winning the emissions job.

A top state Division of Motor Vehicles official announced today that he is retiring.

The announcement by John Robinson comes two weeks after two members of his staff were placed on investigatory leave as part of a probe into the hiring of his longtime friend, reports Dan Kane.

Robinson, 59, will retire June 14 after working for the state for 21 years. He is paid nearly $108,000 annually.

As director of the DMV's License and Theft Bureau, Robinson oversees roughly 200 employees. The bureau investigates theft and fraud involving vehicles and drivers, and it also runs the emissions inspections program.

DMV Commissioner Bill Gore said Robinson's retirement had nothing to do with an incident in which Robinson's childhood friend won a job as an emissions specialist last year. The friend, a former purchasing clerk for Progress Energy, won the job over a longtime State Highway Patrol mechanic who has been teaching mechanics to do emissions inspections for roughly a decade.

Read more after the jump.

   Comments (2)

The N.C. Board of Optometry will hold a disciplinary hearing on Jim Black.

The state agency, which regulates optometrists, is considering revoking the former House speaker's license because of his felony convictions, admitted alcoholism, immoral conduct and unprofessional conduct.

Executive Director John Robinson said that hearings are rare because most optometrists settle the matter beforehand, but he said that he has not heard from Black or his representatives. 

"Our last word was that he will not surrender it," said Robinson.

Black could seek to delay the hearing, set for 9 a.m on Dec. 12, because it would be difficult for him to leave the federal prison in Lewisburg, Pa. (Char-O)