Former Gov. Mike Easley's attorney said Easley got what he wanted for in a referral to prosectors.

"I got what I asked for," said Thomas Hicks, an attorney for Easley
Hicks surprised the Board of Elections on Thursday by asking them to refer the case to the Wake County District Attorney.

Board chairman Larry Leake mentioned Easley by name as someone who may have committed criminal acts.

Hicks told reporters that investigators should focus on Easley friend McQueen Campbell, who testified that Easley asked him to falsify invoices to pay for repairs to Easley's Raleigh home. Easley said the allegation is false.

Board chairman Larry Leake said the board had received evidence that suggests Easley or others may have committed a crime.

"This board has received evidence which, if believed, would tend to indicate
that criminal violations of our election laws and campaign finance laws have occurred on the part of Mike Easley and perhaps others," Leake said.

Easley supporter and friend McQueen Campbell testified that Easley told him to file a false invoice for campaign flights to pay for repairs done to Easley's Raleigh home.

Easley said the allegation is false.
Campbell has essentially admitted to a crime. The question is whether Easley was involved.
"I think McQueen Campbell is where the emphasis should be placed," Hicks said.

Former Gov. Mike Easley's lawyer stunned the Board of Elections by asking the case to be referred to a criminal prosecutor.

Easley's campaign quietly paid for five flights, acknowleding they were campaign-related and should have been reported.

In 1972, then-Gov. Bob Scott took a much more aggressive approach to defendng questions about his campaign finance reports, columnist Rob Christensen notes.

Photographer Shawn Rocco has compiled a photo gallery of images from Thursday and photographer Travis Long has posted a video clip of testimony by Scott Falmlen, former executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party.

Former Gov. Mike Easley never specifically asked McQueen Campbell to file false bills for flights.

Under cross-examination from Easley's lawyer, Thomas Hicks, Campbell testified that he "understood" that Easley wanted him to file the invoices to reimburse himself for repairs done to Easley's Raleigh home.

"He never told you to file a false invoice to his committee?" Hicks asked. "No sir, but I understood what he meant."

"You understood what he meant," Hicks repeated.

The exchange may provide a clue to how Easley intends to defend himself.

Earlier in his questioning, Hicks pointed out that Campbell never issued an invoice to the Easley campaign. Easley may try to argue that the violations entirely the fault of Campbell.

Mike Easley's lawyer for the election hearing is apparently Thomas Hicks, a longtime associate who had been an assistant district attorney under Easley when he was a prosecutor in the southeastern part of the state.

Hicks, who is in private practice in Wilmington handling criminal, traffic, divorce and other cases, was also on Easley's staff when he was attorney general.

Hicks did not return a call. But his assistant returned a call and referred all questions to an Easley spokesman in California.