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.

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 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.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Raleigh issued a cryptic notice today that will likely have public officials abuzz:

There will be a court proceeding in a public corruption matter before United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle in Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 27, 2008, at 11 a.m.

The notice was faxed shortly after 5 p.m. today, after the office had closed. Start your guessin'.

A judge turned down Jim Black's request to delay prison.

In a one-page filing Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the former House speaker to report to federal prison by 2 p.m. Monday, the Charlotte Observer reports.

He agreed, however, to recommend that the Federal Bureau of Prisons place Black in a facility in Butner, north of Raleigh.

Black, a Matthews Democrat, faces more than five years in prison for taking cash payments from chiropractors interested in legislation at the General Assembly. Boyle ruled this month that the payments fit the definition of bribery.

Black had wanted to delay the start of the prison term until September, to ensure that the prison bureau has space at Butner and to allow him to appear for sentencing in state court Tuesday.

Former House Speaker Jim Black wants to serve his federal prison sentence in Butner, and has asked to receive alcohol treatment while there, according to court papers filed Thursday.

Butner is 14 miles northeast of Durham. The prison complex there is one of the closest federal, minimum-security prisons to the Charlotte area.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will make the final decision on where Black will serve, reports David Ingram of The Charlotte Observer. Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, was sentenced this month to more than five years in prison for corruptly taking thousands in cash payments from chiropractors interested in legislation.

He could report to prison as soon as July 30, though he has asked for a delay to be sure the crowded federal prison system will have space available at his preferred prison.

In the one-paragraph motion Thursday, Black's attorneys also ask U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle to recommend alcohol treatment for Black while he's in prison. They do not elaborate.

Last month, an agreement with a probation officer required Black to refrain completely from drinking alcohol. He was previously required to avoid only excessive use.

Former House Speaker Jim Black wants an additional six weeks before he must go to federal prison, saying the Federal Bureau of Prisons needs more time to find him a bed.

Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, asks in court papers filed Monday to delay his start date until Sept. 10, reports David Ingram of The Charlotte Observer. It is currently set for July 30.

Black's attorneys write that the prison bureau will not have designated a place for him by then - a typical occurrence in the crowded federal prison system.

They also write that Black should remain free to appear for sentencing in state court and to attend medical appointments.

The lead prosecutor in Black's case has agreed to the delay, Black's attorneys write.

U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle has not ruled on it.

How much time should Jim Black spend in prison?

The former House speaker, a Mecklenburg Democrat, faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000 after pleading guilty to corruption charges in February.

But his attorneys have asked if he could open a free optometry clinic instead.

For comparison's sake, former state lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings was sentenced to four years in prison and a $25,000 fine for hiding his ties to a lottery vendor.

And former state Rep. Michael Decker, who accepted a bribe from Black to keep him in power, was sentenced to four years and a $50,000 fine.

U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle will sentence Black tomorrow.