The federal prosecutors pressing the case against Ruffin Poole, a former longtime aide to ex-Gov. Mike Easley, want a trial by mid-May on the 51 corruption charges leveled against the former governor's right-hand man.

In a filing, they say they want to "move the case to conclusion with dispatch." The prosecutors, Dennis Duffy and John Bruce, are predicting a two- or three-week trial, according to a court filing.

The prosecutors and Poole's lawyer met on Feb. 4 but could not agree on a timeframe for the trial.

Poole's lawyer, in a court filing, is arguing for a later date, saying the case is complex, has Constitutional questions and conflicts with his schedule on some other upcoming trials. Poole's lawyer, Joe Zeszotarski, is proposing a trial to begin in August.

A federal magistrate judge had set out a framework for the case last week, including setting a tentative trial date much earlier than both sides sought — in March.

But that framework was squashed on Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle, who had presided over Poole's first appearance in court and said at the time he would consider the scheduling issues. Boyle issued an order to all magistrate judges Monday saying that he would preside over the Poole case.

Boyle has yet to act on any scheduling issues.

Poole's lawyer said in his filing that the case against Poole appears to rely "heavily on email evidence" and "voluminous financial documents" relating to money laundering, extortion and bribery charges against Poole.

He said that numerous federal agents have been involved and months of grand jury testimony obtained, and that going to trial in May on an "expedited" schedule would be unconstitutional.

He also said Poole intends to challenge the 12 honest services mail fraud charges, which arise from Poole not reporting gifts and other disclosures on state ethics forms.

The federal honest services statute is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Poole argues that the situation should be resolved by June. Waiting on the Supreme Court to act would likely "streamline" the trial, he argues.

The Supreme Court seems likely to substantially change that law. Catch up on that issue here (preview of the arguments) and here (after the arguments were in).

Poole's lawyer also says he has three other matters now scheduled for trial or appellate arguments in late March, mid-May and late September.

— J. Andrew Curliss

Former Gov.  Mike Easley used a private email account to conduct public business. That's from one of his former aides speaking under oath in a deposition. Sherri Johnson was Easley's communication director, and was questioned in a lawsuit over the destruction of public records. The News & Observer, the John Locke Foundation and other media outlets filed the lawsuit.

 Easley's email address was "Nick Danger" spelled backwards, a reference to a satirical private eye invented by the comedy group Firesign Theatre.

 A year after Gov. Beverly Perdue took office, the state's probation system still struggles to fill jobs.  There are more vacant probation officer positions now than when the News & Observer wrote a series describing the problems in North Carolina's probation system.  Vacant positions are a huge problem because other officers have to pick up offenders assigned to the vacant position, adding more work to already burdened officers.

There's been progress: a new computer program automatically informs probation officers when their probationers screw up, and morale seems better. After the story ran on  Sunday, the governor said she was concerned that the department couldn't fill the jobs. 

The 64-page indictment of the longtime aide to former Gov. Mike Easley outlines 51 corruption charges. Ruffin Poole did not immediately comment.

Read our reporting on the indictment here.

A breakdown of the charges is here.

The indictment also outlines and sheds more light on McQueen Campbell's actions.

The indictment does not accuse Easley of any wrongdoing, but says Poole was Easley's "go to guy."

A figure in the indictment, Lanny Wilson, has resigned two state posts.

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources says there was "an appearance of impropriety that has cast doubts upon the above-board operation of the department."

Lynn Bonner's report on the plans for a cement plant near Wilmington showed "John Merritt, a former top aide to then-Gov.
Mike Easley, worked for Titan behind the scenes, serving as a key
contact with state agencies before Titan announced that it had chosen
Castle Hayne and that the state and county would give the company money
to build there."

After he left office, Easley joined the McGuire Woods
law and lobbying firm where Merritt works.

Catch up on the story here.

Activists are fighting the plant, and they stay connected here.

Titan has its own site here about the issue.

The panel of legal experts that tried to get to the bottom of the missing 2005 records of former Gov. Mike Easley's travels concluded there were "minor inconsistencies" in statements made by patrol Capt. Alan Melvin, but that no further action is necessary.

Here's a breakdown on the three public reports on the matter.

A Business Week investigation about for-profit colleges and GIs was anchored in North Carolina.

The report, which was on newsstands last week, said "for-profit schools account for 29 percent of college enrollments and 40 percent of the half-billion-dollar annual tab in federal tuition assistance for active-duty students."

The online schools charge more than public community colleges. One advertises that it can grant an MBA in 10 months, half the time it takes at a public school.

Career counselors and others say the online degrees are not as valuable. 

The Garner Citizen is reporting on a little-known aspect of the public records law: Governments are supposed to keep tabs on their electronic records.

The newspaper, though, said in a recent report that "A large swath of North Carolina cities and towns have not been following a state law designed to grant easier access to public records after having more than a decade to comply."

Towns say it's onerous to keep up. But a media lawyer points out that the public needs to know what they have.

Our colleagues at the Charlotte Observer have a fascinating story on liquor companies wining and dining members of the Mecklenburg ABC Board. The state's alcohol cops say board members broke the law when they allowed liquor company Diageo to pick up the tab at a $9,334 holiday dinner at Del Frisco's in Charlotte, where guests sipped Dom Perignon. 

ABC chairman Park Helms told investigators that Del Frisco's is "the finest
restaurant in town." He said he only eats there when somebody else pays.

If you're interested in controversy in ABC board across the state, check out the Wilmington Star-News' ongoing investigation of how the locally controlled ABC boards pay their staff.  The administrator in Wilmington earned a salary of $280,000 last year. His son earned $140,000 as assistant administrator.