corruption

Hagan pondering new U.S. attorneys

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:50:51 -0500

Sen.-elect Kay Hagan is on the hunt for a U.S. attorney.

The Greensboro Democrat will have an unofficial but influential role in picking the three federal prosecutors for North Carolina sometime next year.

The prosecutors have played a key role in bringing down a state agriculture commissioner, the speaker of the state House, a congressman and a lottery commissioner, all Democrats.

Some Republicans fear the new U.S. attorneys won't focus as much on corruption.

In a recent interview, Hagan said she had received a number of calls, recommendations and resumes but not made any decisions about the appointment.

Corruption cases are only a fraction of the workload, but the office has special powers, including larger budgets and more powerful grand juries, that allow it to tackle them more effectively. (N&O)

Trophies for the U.S. attorney's wall

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:04:02 -0500

If the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District were a hunter, he'd have some nice trophies.

Over the past eight years, federal prosecutors based in Raleigh have taken down some big Democratic game as part of their anti-corruption efforts.

A short list:

Meg Scott Phipps. The former Agriculture commissioner spent three years in prison for fraud and extortion over inappropriate use of campaign funds.

Jim Black. The former longtime speaker of the N.C. House is serving time for taking $29,000 in bribes from chiropractors who wanted him to push legislation.

Michael Decker. The former state representative is serving time for taking more than $63,000 in cash and campaign checks from Black to switch parties.

Frank Ballance. The former Congressman is serving time for diverting $100,000 in public money he helped direct to a nonprofit to his law firm, church and family.

Garey Ballance. The son of Rep. Ballance, a Democratic district court judge, served time for failing to report money he received from his father to buy a Lincoln Navigator.

Kevin Geddings. The former state lottery commissioner is serving time for failing to disclose that he worked for a lottery vendor when he took his seat.

The U.S. attorney's office may have also helped investigate former Rep. Thomas Wright, who was found guilty in state courts of improperly spending campaign donations, though it has never confirmed or denied the assistance.

Not all of their targets were Democrats, either. Federal prosecutors also put former state GOP chairman and former U.S. attorney Sam Currin in prison for laundering money for a client.

How the U.S. attorney spent 2008

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:05:42 -0500

Public corruption cases got the headlines, but they were a small percentage of the work.

A year-end review of casework at the Eastern District U.S. attorney's office based in Raleigh shows that white-collar crime and drugs were the biggest focuses.

Here's a breakdown:

20 percent: White-collar crime such as bank, securities and stock fraud

19 percent: Organized drug crimes

11 percent: Project Safe Neighborhoods, which focuses on felons possessing firearms

3 percent: Project Safe Childhood, which focuses on child exploitation

3 percent: Public corruption

U.S. Attorney George Holding told Dome that the bulk of the corruption work last year was spent on cases involving the sheriffs of Brunswick and Robeson counties.

McCrory wants investigative grand juries

bniolet — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:17:55 -0400

Pat McCrory wants investigative grand juries to investigate political corruption.

The Charlotte mayor and Republican nominee for governor released a slate of proposals designed to curb corruption. McCrory's announcement sought to tie recent scandals that have involved prominent Democrats to Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor.

McCrory said in the news release that federal prosecutors have had more success in bringing corruption charges because they can force witnesses to testify to grand juries.

"We must clean up our own state government and not continue to depend on federal courts to do our work," McCrory said in a news release.

In state courts, grand juries typically hear evidence presented by law enforcement officials and decide whether to a case should proceed. McCrory's proposal would give state and Wake County prosecutors the ability to call grand juries that could investigate allegations of corruption.

Attorney General Roy Cooper has supported allowing investigative grand juries and proposals to allow them have died in the legislature.

More proposals after the jump.

Two more charged in ethanol case

bniolet — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:19:55 -0400

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.

Hudson gets 40 months, must pay $50,000

bniolet — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:28:33 -0400

A former state official who agreed to a bribery scheme was sentenced today to 40 months in prison.

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.

Document(s):
Hudson-Sentence.pdf

Wright due back in court Monday

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:23:17 -0400

Former Rep. Thomas Wright is scheduled to be back in court Monday.

Wright, a Democrat who represented part of the Wilmington area, has a procedural hearing in Wake Superior Court set for 10 a.m. The hearing relates to an outstanding felony charge of obstruction of justice, and it could result in a judge setting a trial date, said Assistant District Attorney David Sherlin, David Ingram reports.

"We do expect Representative Wright to be here," Sherlin said.

Wright, 52, is in Pamlico Correctional Institution, serving a prison term of at least five years and 10 months. A jury found him guilty in April of three counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Wright fraudulently obtained a $150,000 loan and put $7,400 in charitable contributions in his own pocket, jurors found.

A grand jury in December also charged Wright with obstruction of justice. Investigators said he failed to report as much as $185,000 in campaign contributions, as required by state campaign-finance laws. Wright has said he did nothing wrong and that he is pleading not guilty to all charges.

In March, the N.C. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to expel Wright for violating ethics rules — the first expulsion in Raleigh since 1880. Wright, once among the House's most influential members, had refused to resign.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the plea.

Bragging led to Hudson corruption plea

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:49:08 -0400

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.

Hudson subpoena

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:24:41 -0400

Hudson subpoena

Investigator requests for information on Agri-Business Ethanol.
Download document

Subpoena names company in Hudson case

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:20:09 -0400

Federal authorities who have charged a former state environmental official with public corruption subpoenaed a state agency in November 2007 for any records dealing with a company called Agri-Ethanol Products of Raleigh.

That subpoena, obtained today through a public records request, was related to a federal corruption charge against Boyce Allen Hudson, a former N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources official who is accused of trying to expedite permits for an ethanol company — not identified in court documents — in exchange for cash, Dan Kane and Ben Niolet report.

Court records show that Hudson will plead guilty to the charges next week in federal court. Efforts to reach Hudson and his attorney have been unsuccessful.

Officials with Agri-Ethanol Products could not be immediately reached for comment today.

The subpoena also sought information about the agency's dealings with a partnership that figured prominently in the Randy Parton Theatre.

More after the jump.