At least two lobbyists helped state Rep. Thomas Wright get a $1,500 check from AT&T, according to testimony Monday.
John Policastro, a former AT&T lobbyist, testified about the money before a legislative committee that is hearing ethics charges against Wright, a Wilmington Democrat, David Ingram reports.
Wright sent an "invoice" to Policastro and AT&T in 2003, asking for a $1,500 payment, and Policastro said he then forwarded the request to superiors because he did not have authority to make the payment. Wright got the check, and investigators say he pocketed the money.
The charity, known as The Community's Health Foundation, did not have IRS approval as a tax-exempt organization. Policastro said he was under the impression that it did.
"I would have not passed this along if I had known it was not a 501(c)(3) organization," he said.
But before Wright sent the invoice, he spoke with another AT&T lobbyist, Larry Bewley, about the possibility of getting a contribution, Policastro said.
More after the jump.
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The details of Wright's conversation with Bewley were not clear Monday. Bewley has not been called to testify, and he could not be reached for comment. Policastro gave no details, alluding to Bewley only as an outside consultant until Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican, asked directly for the
consultant's name.
Bewley stopped lobbying for AT&T in December 2004, records show. Among his 11 current clients are American Express, the Cigar Association of America and a company that specializes in transferring money to Latin America. In 2003, he was also working for payday lender Cash America and for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Policastro now works for the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association.
The ethics hearing resumes today at 10 a.m.
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