Ex_Governor Easley Targeted in Raging Probes

[Sydney Carton]

     ALL ROADS LEAD TO DURHAM!!
  SC:For once Nifong gets  something at which he can get a good laught!
http://www.newsobserver.com/2972/story/1529779.html


 The News & Observer
Published: May 16, 2009 04:06 AM
Modified: May 16, 2009 04:11 AM

Feds reveal a criminal probe of Easley
Separately, the state Board of Elections launches an investigation into Easley's vehicles and air travel his supporters gave him.
BY J. ANDREW CURLISS, Staff Writer
Federal and state investigators revealed Friday that they are conducting criminal probes of former Gov. Mike Easley's private air travel and his wife's and son's use of vehicles they did not own.

The federal investigation was disclosed in subpoenas the FBI delivered to the state Highway Patrol. The subpoenas order the agency to turn over all information it has about the Easley family's private travels since 2000 as part of a grand jury investigation.

One was issued to patrol Capt. Alan Melvin, who headed Easley's protection unit in recent years. He was placed on administrative duties Friday after being served with the court papers.

The federal grand jury meets next week. The U.S. attorney in Raleigh, George E.B. Holding, declined to comment.

In a separate action, the State Elections Board ordered the Easley campaign finance files closed, an official step that establishes a criminal investigation is under way. Gary Bartlett, the state elections director, said board investigators will conduct a thorough examination of the Easley campaign.

Bartlett said an Easley campaign lawyer has been in contact with his office. The lawyer indicated the Easley committee is working to amend reports and disclose more information about the campaign's actions over the past decade, he said.

"There needs to be disclosure and sunshine on this," Bartlett said.

Easley, the two-term Democratic governor who left office in January, could not be reached by phone or e-mail.

The developments follow News & Observer stories that raised questions about Easley's secret use of aircraft, sometimes at no cost, and vehicles the Easleys were driving but did not own.

The N&O has previously reported that federal agents are asking questions about the use of at least one car. Separately, agents have contacted people involved in a Carteret County community called Cannonsgate where Easley acquired a lot at a favorable price in 2005.

Jim Coleman, a Duke law professor, said the newspaper articles have raised suspicions that authorities must look into further.

"The government is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, but it would be important at this point that the public not rush to any judgment," said Coleman, who has pursued ethics charges against members of Congress and defended a public agency in a federal probe.

"To determine any criminal violations, there would have to be criminal intent involved," he said.

The federal investigation

The FBI subpoenas ask the patrol and Capt. Melvin to produce records related to the travels of Mike and Mary Easley and their son, Michael Jr.

In addition, the subpoenas request documents relating to:

Payments made in exchange for the air travel.

Communications with the Easley family regarding the private travel.

Communications regarding public inquiries surrounding the air travel.

The state Highway Patrol's records retention policy.

The retention or destruction of records related to travel by the Easley family.

Such records are held by the patrol's special unit that provides protection for the governor. Easley and administration officials would not release the records while he was in office, saying that doing so would compromise the governor's security. Gov. Beverly Perdue released them after taking office.

Records that have been provided refer to flights about which the patrol has no other information. Also, nothing has been provided for the entire year of 2005.

Patrol officials say they have scoured the unit's files and cannot locate any records other than those already provided.

Several pilots have acknowledged flying the governor at no cost.

The state investigation

The State Elections Board has led several probes of politicians in recent years, often including public hearings to gather evidence.

The board's inquiry will result in at least one of four actions against Easley or his campaign: an exoneration, a formal rebuke, a fine, or a referral to the Wake County district attorney for prosecution of suspected crimes.

Bartlett said he could not provide details of everything the investigation could cover. But he said air travel and use of vehicles are among the topics. The board's investigators had first requested the travel records from the patrol Thursday.

New records obtained by The N&O show that John Wallace, the lawyer who represents Easley's campaign and the state Democratic Party, sought guidance on the value of private flights from elections officials in February 2004, both before and after questionable flights.

Elections officials wrote to Wallace in June of that year saying that the law required reporting of actual expenses, and that campaigns must seek approval if an individual with use of a plane as part of a pay package wanted to donate flight time. Officials said this week that no candidates have sought approval.

Elections officials noted that many private planes are owned by limited liability companies and that business contributions are banned in North Carolina.

"The use of an aircraft owned by a corporation or business entity ... may not be donated to a candidate, party or political committee," Bartlett wrote to Wallace on June 21, 2004.

The campaign reports of the state party and Easley both show donated air travel in 2003 and 2004 by people whose planes are owned by companies.

One example based on records and interviews involves Board of Transportation member Cameron McRae of Kinston. McRae's King Air 300 is owned by an entity called Flying Pigs LLC.

Easley flew on the Flying Pigs plane on May 1, 2003. McRae donated $4,000 to Easley's campaign on June 30. Those donations exceed limits or violate the business contribution ban.

Easley also flew on McRae's Flying Pigs plane on Aug. 25, 2004. That same day McRae donated $3,547 in catering services to the Easley campaign.

McRae also is listed as providing a $1,250 in-kind donation to the state Democratic party on Oct. 16, 2004, but McRae's lawyer says that contribution was actually to cover the Aug. 25 flight. Those donations either exceed limits or violate the business contribution ban.

Separately, McRae was also subject to disclosure laws as a transportation board member. He listed donations for Easley's campaign of only $8,000 on his disclosure form covering those years.

Bartlett could provide no timetable for how long an investigation of Easley will take.

"Our foundation is built on disclosure," he said. "We like timely disclosure, but we welcome any disclosure when it can be made."

acurliss@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4840


A flurry of action

Friday brought rapid developments surrounding former Gov. Mike Easley:

9 a.m .: Federal agents deliver subpoenas to Highway Patrol.

12:30 p.m.: State Board of Elections opens criminal inquiry of Easley campaign.

1 p.m.: Easley's former security chief put on administrative duty.

2:15 p.m.: McQueen Campbell, a pilot whom flew Easley often, resigns from N.C. State University board of trustees.

[Sydney Carton]

   http://www.newsobserver.com/134/story/1536313.html


Published: May 21, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified: May 20, 2009 11:23 PM

Easley pals drop like flies
BY BARRY SAUNDERS, Staff Writer
And another one bites the dust.

Cameron "Mr. Bojangles" McRae, a businessman buddy of former Gov. Mike Easley, resigned Wednesday from the state transportation board after Easley's unreported trips on McRae's private plane became known.

That's at least four POES -- Pals of the Easleys -- who've lost their posts as allegations swirl about Mike and Mary Easley's privileged heads.

Rudyard Kipling famously wrote, "If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs ... then you will be a man, my son."

If ol' Rudy were around today to witness the contretemps occurring over at N.C. State University, he might change that to "if you can keep your job while those around you are losing theirs, then you'll be one heckuva former first lady."

Although maintaining that there was nothing untoward about the 88 percent raise then-first lady Mary Easley received to book speakers at NCSU or the apparently unreported flights taken by Gov. Mike Easley, Easley friends are dropping like bowling pins.

In addition to McRae, a Bojangles chicken franchisee, another transportation board member, Mac Campbell, quit just as The News & Observer investigation into Gov. Easley's travels geared up. Last week, two N.C. State officials -- provost Larry Nielsen and board chairman McQueen Campbell, Mac Campbell's son -- gave up their posts.

The question now becomes when will Mary Easley give up the ghost?

Her reluctance to voluntarily step down from a job paying her $170,000 is understandable, especially in this economic climate. They'd have to threaten me with the release of pictures of underage farm animals and me sipping piña coladas on the beach in a Speedo at sunset before I'd voluntarily go quietly -- and broke -- into that good night.

Mary Easley, in street lingo, has papers on the university that employs her, and the school would have to honor the contract to dissociate itself from her.

UNC President Erskine Bowles said she should resign, but only her own decency can compel her to step down without making the university fulfill the entire five-year, $850,000 contract.

Gov. Beverly Perdue, displaying none of the leadership that allowed her to become the state's first female governor, responded forcefully when asked about the issue, saying she hopes the whole thing just gets resolved quickly.

   snip

Of course, as every politician since Julius Caesar has discovered, people aren't nearly as generous or solicitous of your desires when you're out of office.

Cynics among you may ask "What is the use of having well-heeled friends if we can't put the squeeze on 'em for a free flight or a hefty raise?"

None, as long as there is no expectation of reciprocity, for as it says in the good book, "let he who is without rich friends pick up some -- or fly coach."

[Sydney Carton]

   http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10411993

Could Easley investigation expand to Perdue?

Posted: May 22, 2009 05:20 PM

Updated: May 29, 2009 05:36 PM

By Melissa Hankins - bio l email

WBTV (Charlotte) - Sources tell WBTV that the federal probe into former Governor Mike Easley's travel records and expenses may grow to include our current Governor, Beverly Perdue.

The FBI is investigating trips taken by Easley during his time in office.

The News and Observer in Raleigh reports, while in office, he flew on at least 25 private jets provided by several businessmen.

Easley didn't pay for some flights, and the value of other trips appears to exceed campaign donation limits. It's a matter of receipts. They were kept under lock and key until recently -- still some are missing.

Now, we've learned Democrats are worried about Perdue's travel records from the time she served as Lieutenant Governor, largely because we're told they're unavailable.

Highway Patrol says it simply didn't keep her travel records; former Democratic consultant Joe Sinsheimer finds that strange.

"It does seem odd that they kept the travel records for the governor but not the lieutenant governor," Sinsheimer says. "There is a fear in democratic circles that this investigation will grow and it could cross over from the Easley administration to the Perdue administration." ]

Sinsheimer is very well known here in North Carolina for being a political watchdog. He raised attention about Jim Black, long before authorities went after him.

WBTV contacted the U.S. Attorney looking into Easley. He said he could neither confirm nor deny his probe now includes our current governor.

Perdue's office didn't comment on-record.
   Thanks abb

[Krystal Night]

Yikes...Mike Easley was such an outspoken critic of Mr. Nifong and now it seems his closet is filled with skeletons.  How dare him criticize Mr. Nifong and his own closet is dirty!

SMDH!

[Krystal Night]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g9Fu1Z_dKmj9KZ7Ngpk04F5rcadgD98MMQDG0


NC State fires former governor's wife


RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The wife of former North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has been fired from her $170,000-a-year position at N.C. State University.

UNC system president Erskine Bowles announced Mary Easley's termination Monday, hours after the school's chancellor resigned over the controversy.

Meanwhile, e-mails released by N.C. State indicate the former governor was involved in the school's hiring of his wife, who had refused to step down despite calls from top university officials.

Mary Easley ran a speakers series and an academic center dealing with law enforcement training. She began at the university as a teacher.

The e-mails were released as Chancellor James Oblinger became the third school official to leave a post in the flap over Mary Easley's job.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A top North Carolina education official has resigned amid questions about his role in the controversial hiring of a former first lady for a university post.

North Carolina State University Chancellor James Oblinger said in a statement released Monday by the university that he is stepping down because the scrutiny of a job given to former first lady Mary Easley is a distraction for the school. Easley was hired when her husband, Mike Easley, was governor.

Oblinger had asked Easley to resign her position, but she hasn't.

N.C. State has been under fire because of a severance package Oblinger gave to the official who hired Easley and because of the salary Easley received. The official, former provost Larry Nielsen, resigned last month.





Too bad. So sad, Mary Easley! ( NOT)

What happened to your big mouth, Mike Easley?  You criticized Mr. Nifong about the Duke Lacrosse case and now dirt has been uncovered on you. Next time....learn to shut up!

[Sydney Carton]

   http://www.newsobserver.com/2972/story/1564490.html


Published: Jun 11, 2009 06:11 AM
Modified: Jun 11, 2009 06:11 AM

Mary Easley speaks, but says little
In a farewell letter, the former first lady lauds NCSU but doesn't mention controversy.
BY JAY PRICE, Staff Writer
Mary Easley has finally spoken out, though only to say goodbye to N.C. State University.

As the controversy about how she got her job there built in the past few weeks -- culminating Monday in the resignation of Chancellor James L. Oblinger and her own firing -- Easley had stayed mum.

On Wednesday, though, her attorney, Marvin Schiller of Raleigh, issued an open letter from Easley. It lauded NCSU's faculty, staff and students, but referred only obliquely to the uproar over the political connections that got her the job in 2005.

"It has been one of the great privileges of my life to work with the brilliant and creative people at NC State," Easley wrote. "It has been a joy to teach, encourage and help the students.

"I urge all of the North Carolina State family to now focus on the best welfare of the students and be mindful of the great tradition of the university system in North Carolina."

The NCSU trustees voted to end her contract, which had four years left, because at least some of the work she had been hired for no longer existed. NCSU administrators decided last month to put a moratorium on new academic centers, citing budget cuts. Starting such a center had been listed as 35 percent of Easley's job.

There was no mention in the letter of whether she intends to fight her firing. Schiller has often represented state workers in job-related disputes.

Easley's firing was unusually public. It was done by trustees Monday in a hastily called meeting hours after Oblinger resigned amid new revelations about his role in her hiring. The university released e-mail that showed Oblinger had participated in discussions with an NCSU trustee about hiring her, and that Gov. Mike Easley and at least one member of his staff also were involved. The trustee, Easley friend McQueen Campbell, also has resigned, as did Provost Larry Nielsen, who hired Mary Easley.

Journalists have sought an explanation directly from Mary Easley, to no avail. Last month, Schiller held a news conference in which she stood at his side smiling tightly for nearly an hour, speaking only to wish the crowd of journalists good morning and to tell Schiller he was straying a little from the microphones.

It's still unclear whether Easley is entitled to a buyout package. Such packages have come under fire in the legislature after it was revealed that Nielsen got one, which Oblinger sweetened the day before the provost resigned.

[Sydney Carton]

    http://www.newsobserver.com/2972/story/1600544.html


Published: Jul 09, 2009 05:31 AM
Modified: Jul 09, 2009 05:36 AM

Former NCSU fundraiser talks to feds
She had worked alongside Easley
BY J. ANDREW CURLISS, Staff Writer
A former fundraiser at N.C. State University who worked closely with former first lady Mary Easley talked Wednesday with federal agents about her job at the university.

The fundraiser, Wendy Brown, spoke with authorities for a couple of hours,according to her lawyer, Raleigh City Council member Philip Isley.

Isley said that he represents Brown in a separate civil action against the university. "She was cooperating with a request to discuss her job duties at N.C. State," Isley said, declining to elaborate.

Separately, the university has received a subpoena to provide documents about Brown's work to a federal grand jury, NCSU Chancellor James Woodward said.

Brown was part of a News & Observer report published June 21 that detailed aspects of the fundraising around Mary Easley's position, including that Mary Easley focused on raising money from people or businesses that she had said "owed" favors to her or her husband, former Gov. Mike Easley. Through a spokesman, the Easleys have said all aspects of the efforts that brought in $180,000 for a lecture series overseen by Mary Easley were appropriate.

Brown was let go by the university in early March, a decision made by former provost Larry Nielsen, who cited budget cuts. Records show Brown had raised $1.5 million for programs in the provost's office in two years on a salary of about $58,000.

Woodward said Brown's departure was one of many forced by a tight budget.

Federal authorities are investigating several issues surrounding the former governor, including how Mary Easley obtained her position at NCSU.

 Snip

acurliss@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4840 

Thanks abb

[Sydney Carton]

   http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/story/1611895.html




Flub-finding
There were several points at which the saga of Mary Easley's hiring by N.C. State University could have been kept from devolving into an unseemly exercise in string-pulling by the office of her husband, then-Gov. Mike Easley. For instance: What if the chairman of the Board of Trustees, when feelers reached him, had said: "Look, Mrs. Easley might make a splendid addition to the university staff, but she needs go through the customary process of applying for an open position. It's not my place to help make it happen."

Instead, there ensued a chapter in the tangled tale of Mike Easley and McQueen Campbell. Easley had put his pal Campbell on the board, and he rose to the top spot. When the feelers about a job for the first lady reached him, he was eager to help.

Now, under new chairman Lawrence Davenport, the board will examine how the university managed to wind up with so much Easley egg on its face. The chronicle of embarrassment has cost a chancellor and provost their jobs, as well as Mrs. Easley. Yes, and McQueen Campbell. First big lesson: If the governor's office pressures the university, don't be afraid to say no.

   Thanks abb.

[Sydney Carton]

   We  only run occasional snippets on the Easley.Conyers and Blago-Burness  cases.There are entire cottage industries out there on the subjects at hand.
   However this one strikes intp previously uncharted  territories.

    http://www.newsobserver.com/2972/story/1685834.html


Published: Sep 12, 2009 03:40 AM
Modified: Sep 12, 2009 04:37 AM

Easleys rebuked for land discount
Watchdogs call for more openness
BY JOSEPH NEFF AND JAY PRICE, Staff writers
The news that former Gov. Mike Easley and his wife accepted a $137,000 discount on a waterfront lot in 2005 shows the need for more transparency in government, several watchdog organizations said Friday.

"This should have been disclosed and exposed to the light of day," said Bob Hall, director of Democracy North Carolina, which tracks campaign finance. "Then Easley could have been congratulated or condemned for having pulled off such a deal."

The News & Observer reported Friday that Easley received the discount months after his administration granted a sewage-treatment permit necessary to develop Cannonsgate, a subdivision that fronts Bogue Sound in Carteret County. Easley, a Democrat who left office in January, and his representatives have said for years that he received no special deals or treatment. That statement is contradicted by the transaction's closing documents, which The N&O obtained.
snip
  SC:We trust everyone remembers Joe Neff from his work on the Lacrosse Fraud.

[Sydney Carton]

      http://www.newsobserver.com/2972/story/1694532.html


Published: Sep 18, 2009 03:37 AM
Modified: Sep 18, 2009 03:53 AM

Easley probe broadens
Grand jury examines permit for coastal project
BY J. ANDREW CURLISS, Staff Writer
A federal grand jury sought information Thursday from two state environmental officials who handled permits on the Cannonsgate land project, a development in coastal Carteret County where former Gov. Mike Easley acquired a waterfront lot in 2005.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it would not be appropriate for the officials to comment on any testimony.

The move into state permits is the latest development in a long investigation of issues surrounding Easley, including the Cannonsgate development, free flights and his family's use of vehicles. Numerous people connected to the former governor, a Democrat who left office in January, have already been before the grand jury, which meets in secret.

On Thursday, the grand jury also heard from a former fundraising official at N.C. State University who worked closely with Easley's wife, Mary, in her role leading a speakers series at the university. The fundraiser, Wendy Brown, has said in previous interviews that Mary Easley called in "favors" and focused on people with business before the state in scouting for donors to NCSU, some of whom gave money. Mary Easley was fired in June amid turmoil at the university.

snip

[Sydney Carton]

   http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/120409.html


Published Thu, Oct 01, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Thu, Oct 01, 2009 04:08 AM
State sets Easley hearing

Former Gov. Mike Easley, who is a former crime-fighting prosecutor and state attorney general, is expected to be called to testify under oath about possible violations of state elections laws tied to his campaigns for the state's highest office.

North Carolina's elections board Wednesday set a hearing for Oct. 26 to gather evidence about the Easley campaign and the state Democratic Party that the board said might indicate illegal contributions and inaccurate campaign finance reports.

Easley said through a spokesman previously that hearings were not needed. The spokesman would not comment Wednesday.

Elections board Chairman Larry Leake of Mars Hill said hearings will sift information and gather evidence about activities that are under investigation. He said no one should assume there was wrongdoing by Easley, the state party or anyone else.

"The purpose of the hearing is to find the truth as to what did occur," Leake said.

In recent years, some state elections hearings have led to dramatic testimony and spurred criminal charges against top elected officials, including the speaker of the state House. Other hearings have led to fines or calls for reforms of laws -- as well as findings of no wrongdoing.

Subpoena foreseen

Leake said in an interview that Easley will be required to appear, setting a stage for the former two-term Democratic governor who left office in January to answer questions publicly after months of issuing statements through spokesmen or lawyers. Easley now works for the McGuireWoods law firm in Raleigh.

"It would be my anticipation that he [Easley] would be subpoenaed to testify," Leake said. "You don't have an option if you are subpoenaed."

Leake said Easley and his campaign have cooperated with the elections board's four-month investigation and provided lots of information.
   snip

[Sydney Carton]

    http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/163330.html


Published Thu, Oct 29, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Thu, Oct 29, 2009 05:28 AM
Easley coolly contradicts Campbell's take on finances

Former Gov. Mike Easley gave sworn testimony Wednesday about free flights, the use of a vehicle and campaign-funded repairs to his home that directly contradicted earlier statements in a state Board of Elections hearing.

Easley, a two-term Democratic governor who left office in January, said he never instructed supporter McQueen Campbell to submit false invoices that led to his campaign's paying $11,000 for repairs to Easley's Raleigh home. He said he believed that Campbell had been properly reimbursed for dozens of times he flew Easley on campaign and personal trips.

Easley's five-hour appearance on the third day of the board's hearings was a rare sight: a former governor being questioned about possible crime by five members of a state board, three of whom he appointed.

Easley grimaced when asked about Campbell, his longtime friend, political ally and pilot. Campbell had testified Monday that he flew Easley without getting paid and fixed Easley's house in Raleigh, then had to pester the governor for reimbursement -- which eventually came from campaign money.

Easley conceded that his campaign likely had not met its responsibility under state law to properly pay for flights that Campbell had provided, flights valued by Campbell at more than $100,000.

Board Chairman Larry Leake said he believes testimony showed the law was broken in that area: "Clearly, there was a violation."

   snip
   There is much more.

[Sydney Carton]

   http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/168895.html


Published Sun, Nov 01, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Sun, Nov 01, 2009 05:46 AM


The judgment Friday by the State Board of Elections that evidence suggests Easley, a Democrat who served two terms as governor, committed crimes while in office is the result of only one arm of state and federal probes that are wide-ranging and continuing.

But the board's four-day hearing has produced new evidence and testimony about actions by Easley while he was in office. And board members offered a clear decision, saying in interviews they tended to believe what a longtime friend and aide named McQueen Campbell had said over the version offered by Easley during five hours of testimony.

Federal prosecutors will undoubtedly scour Easley's words and his version of various events related to free flights, a free car, and campaign-paid home repairs that Campbell testified were purposely hidden from the public.

"The matters from this week are probably one slice of the investigative pie," said Kieran Shanahan, a former federal prosecutor and Raleigh lawyer and a Republican. He had a minor client in the hearing, and after watching said he saw nothing that would make prosecutors hesitate.

Easley spoke openly of the federal inquiry in his testimony, talking of isolation from friends and associates to avoid obstructing justice. He said he has been scouring bank accounts in detail, recently cutting a $4,200 check to cover unpaid rent on his son's college housing. At one point, during a break, Easley went five rows deep into the audience and shook the hands of an FBI agent and IRS agent who were taking notes and have been tracking him.

The board's decision to refer its case to a state prosecutor could be folded into the wider range of other issues surrounding Easley that all seem to fit a pattern of accepting favors, at times apparently mixed with government action. Those other concerns include: a job Easley helped create for his wife at N.C. State University; action by his administration to waive violations or possibly speed up permits; and a $137,000 discount he accepted on a coastal lot he purchased.

Some of the same people involved in those issues, such as developer Gary Allen, testified narrowly, and the elections board avoided getting into material outside of campaign finance law.

The election board's inquiry also exposed a top Easley aide, Ruffin Poole, as being involved in fundraising while he was also serving as a key agent for Easley to clear obstacles at various state agencies. Poole, now working at the same law firm as Easley, fought the board's repeated efforts to question him. The case reached the state Court of Appeals, which has said Poole should be required to appear. The board could return to Raleigh to call him as a witness.

Discrediting Campbell

Easley's lawyer, Thomas Hicks, says investigators should focus just as hard on Campbell as they will on Easley. He has sought to discredit Campbell as a witness, relying especially on comments Campbell has made to The News & Observer.
   snip
   There's lots,lots,more.