Former N.C. lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings will appeal his case further, his lawyer said Tuesday, a day after a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court upheld Geddings' public corruption conviction.

Geddings will appeal his case to the full nine judges on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the fourth district, based in Richmond, Va., according to Jonathan Edelstein, his lawyer, reports Mark Johnson.

"There are several issues of importance in this appeal that have been the subject of a judicial conversation all over the country," said Edelstein, of New York, "in terms of limiting the scope of honest services fraud."

Geddings was convicted in 2006 of a federal charge of depriving the public of his honest services. He concealed that he had done thousands of dollars worth of work for a lottery vendor when he accepted a seat on the state lottery commission in 2005. He did not disclose the work for Scientific Games on his state ethics form.

He is serving a four-year sentence at a federal prison camp in Jessup, Ga. On Monday, a three-judge panel from the fourth circuit rejected arguments that Edelstein made before them in February that the honest services law was being interpreted too broadly. He emphasized that Geddings did not try to profit from his lottery commission post and that he did no work for the
company after joining the commission.

The next step for Geddings is to ask all nine of the fourth circuit's judges to hear the case, which Edelstein said he would do. Another lawyer in the case, Gene Matthews of Columbia, S.C., spoke with Geddings, who asked for the further appeal, Edelstein said.

"If necessary," he said, "we may end up going (to the Supreme Court of the United States)."

Meredith Norris claimed this month that she didn't know lobbying laws.

But that wasn't what she said back in 2005.

In a meeting with the Real Estate Commission, the one-time aide to disgraced former House Speaker Jim Black blamed Scientific Games lobbyist Alan Middleton for not telling her she needed to register.

And in a letter to commissioners, she said state statutes were "vague and unclear" about the difference between lobbying and consulting.

But after a story in the N&O noted that she was being paid by the lottery vendor, Norris visited the newsroom on Sept. 23, 2005, and met with editor Melanie Sill and two reporters to complain. She was adamant that all she did was monitor legislation.

"I know the lobbying law," Norris said then. "So certainly would I just be dumb enough not to register when I needed to?"

Hat Tip: Dan Kane

Meredith Norris blames Scientific Games for her legal problems.

In panel review of her application to be a real estate license, the former aide to disgraced House Speaker Jim Black said she relied on the company's lobbyist "for expertise" on what forms to file, but the lobbyist was not familiar with North Carolina laws, according to notes from a Real Estate Commission staffer.

Norris pleaded guilty last August to a misdemeanor charge of failing to register as a lobbyist for the lottery vendor. The conviction led the commission to review her character before deciding to grant her a real estate license.

During the Aug. 6 review, she said she thought of her work as consulting, and "had no expertise in lobbying." She said she accepted responsibility for her actions and dealt with the charges "seriously and in a somber fashion," according to the notes.

She also admitted it would have been much better if she had "registered on paper," and insisted nothing was done "under the table," the notes say.

The state Real Estate Commission failed to issue a license to Meredith Norris.

The former aide to disgraced House Speaker Jim Black passed a licensing exam but the commission did not issue her a license after considering her application on July 10.

State law requires applicants demonstrate "good moral character," though a criminal record is not necessarily a hindrance.

Last August, Norris pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to disclose that she was lobbying for lottery vendor Scientific Games.

Representatives of the licensing division were not available, and attempts to reach Norris were not successful. (The Insider)

What does a national popular vote plan have in common with the lottery? 

If you answered "interstate compacts," you're a wonk beyond all redemption. If you answered "Scientific Games," then you've read this article in the Winston-Salem Journal.

John Koza, a Stanford University professor behind the popular vote plan, founded the lottery company years ago, though he's not been involved with it since 1987. In an interview, he laughed about the recent problems of his former company.

"I read about their travails with this guy who somehow was a consultant for Scientific Games," Koza said, referring to Kevin Geddings, who was sentenced last month to four years in prison. "That doesn’t sound like a very good thing to do if you want to stay out of jail!"

Koza said his work on interstate agreements for Powerball and other lottery games was partly the inspiration for his proposal.

Dome, for one, expects to hear about the connection again from state Republicans who oppose both the lottery and the popular vote plan. 

A federal judge sentenced former lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings to four years in prison and a $25,000 fine today. Here is a quick summary of the arguments from the hearing:

Prosecution: Geddings got tens of thousands of dollars from Scientific Games before he became a commissioner. That's pretty much the same thing as a bribe. Defense: He wasn't bribed; he simply failed to fill out an ethics form accurately. Judge: It's not quite a bribe, but he did more than screw up a form.

Defense: Geddings wasn't a "high-level official" since he was only one of nine lottery commissioners. Prosecution: Yes, but he helped pick the executive director and tried to influence the other board members to pick Scientific Games. Judge: He's a "high-level official" all right.

Prosecution: Geddings lied to the public, he lied to the media and he lied to the jury. Defense: He meant every word he said, and he has a right to defend himself. Judge: I don't care what you said to the media, but the perjury will cost you.

Defense: Geddings' son has autism, his wife has Type 1 diabetes and his political career is over. Be lenient. Prosecution: Judges have been tough on single mothers, and he's at least got a wife. Judge: I'll take his family into consideration, but it's not a major factor.

Some notes from this morning's sentencing hearing on Kevin Geddings:

* Defense attorney Jonathan Edelstein argued that Geddings' crime was not as serious as that of former Rep. Michael Decker, who switched parties to keep then Speaker Jim Black in power. That, the attorney argued, was "a coup" of one branch of government.

* Prosecutors argued that Geddings' actions prevented North Carolina from getting a competitive bid. Once his ethical problems were known, they said, the state had no choice but to go with rival GTECH Corp., rather than Scientific Games.

* Defense attorneys also argued that Geddings was not a "high-level official" worthy of additional punishment, since he was one of nine lottery commissioners. "He was not even a figurehead," argued Edelstein. "He was one-ninth of a figurehead."

Former state lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings pleaded for mercy this morning from a federal judge who will sentence him this afternoon on mail fraud charges for hiding his business ties to a major lottery vendor.

Geddings told U.S. District Court Judge James C. Dever III that a lengthy prison sentence would take him away from his young children during a critical phase in their lives. He said his actions were “all a mistake.”

“I should have been more careful in filling out those ethics forms,” Geddings said. “Looking around, I can see that is the understatement of my life.”

But federal prosecutor Dennis Duffy argued that Geddings had lied repeatedly about his involvement with Scientific Games.

“This was a well-calculated scheme,” Duffy told the court.

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Former state lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings will be sentenced this morning for hiding his business ties to a major lottery vendor.

In 2006, a jury found Geddings guilty of five counts of mail fraud related to his failure to disclose a relationship with Scientific Games, which sought the lottery contract.

Geddings had been appointed by former House speaker Jim Black, who later resigned and pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge.

U.S. District Court Judge James Dever III has said that Geddings may have committed perjury during his testimony in the fraud case.

Geddings will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Dome will be there, but we probably won't have Internet access.

For breaking news on the sentencing this morning, check our home page at www.newsobserver.com.

One-time state lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings liked to bet on the lottery.

Not by buying lottery tickets, mind you. By betting on whether the bill to create a lottery in North Carolina would pass in the legislature, Andy Curliss reports.

This week, prosecutors entered several 2005 e-mail exchanges as evidence against Geddings, who will be sentenced next week on a fraud conviction. Geddings had hid his employment history with Scientific Games and Middleton, its chief lobbyist, when he took a seat on the lottery oversight board.

In one, Geddings bets Middleton dinner at Morton's in Charlotte that the bill will pass. In another, he says he'll buy him a "Big Boy burger" if it passes.

Geddings then adds: "Get ready to move to Raleigh to do start-up!"

Prosecutors argue that last line is evidence that Geddings intended to help Scientific Games win the lottery contract.

For the full story, click "Read more" below.

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