The campaign committee of former Gov. Mike Easley has delivered a $5,335 check to the state Board of Elections, saying the money was for "partial satisfaction" of the $100,000 fine levied against Easley last year.

Treasurer Joseph A. Newsome said in a letter that the payment was from the remaining cash on hand in the Easley campaign bank accounts, and the accounts are now closed.

Newsome did not indicate if the rest of the fine would be paid.

Easley has said he wants to pay any amounts that are owed by him. The elections board issued the fine after a hearing in which testimony showed Easley took free flights from friend and supporter McQueen Campbell.

Records show the campaign had not spent money, other than on fees and taxes, since the fine was made public.

The committee began the year 2009 with $427,700 in its accounts, but that money was spent on lawyers as legal and ethical troubles surrounded Easley. The campaign has separately listed that it still owes six-figure debt to lawyers.

Easley had testified during the hearing in October, as it became clear that he took free flights, that he wanted to pay up.

"I think the important thing is that we get it sorted out, and if we owe it, we pay it," Easley testified. "I don't know any other answer other than to say that."

A board member specifically asked Easley whether, if he owed for trips, he would make sure he paid.

"If we owe anybody any money, we ought to pay it," Easley testified.

The federal grand jury added tax evasion and other charges Thursday to the corruption case against Ruffin Poole, a key aide to former Gov. Mike Easley.

It brings to 57 the number of counts leveled against Poole. A trail is tentatively set for late April, but could be firmed up as soon as next week.

Read more here.

We in the news business are a competitive bunch, so we don't always
share well with others in the business. But we do agree on the value of
open government, so this week -- Sunshine Week -- we shared a lot.

Our series, "Keeping Secrets," written by investigative reporter Dan Kane,
examined the ways that North Carolina trails most other states in
making personnel records a secret. In part one, Dan exposed how the personnel law protects information about employees who go bad.  Part two examined how it's nearly impossible to find out the political connections that get some state employees their jobs. And part three showed the silliest part of the law: a state employee's salary history isn't considered public record.

In celebration of Sunshine Week, when folks from all walks of life
celebrate the value of open records and meetings, we did something
unusual with these stories: We distributed them statewide through the Sunshine Center at Elon University for other news outlets to publish at the same time we did.

And some did publish them. I don't have a complete list, but among the
media that used Dan's work were: The Charlotte Observer, The Sun
Journal in New Bern, The Salisbury Post and Time Warner Cable's News 14
Carolina.

Perhaps you live elsewhere and saw these stories in your local media. If so, thank the spirit of Sunshine Week.

-- Steve Riley

They are employees who have committed crimes on the job, won their positions through political connections or have received big salaries and plum positions over the years.

They work, or worked, in state and local public jobs. Taxpayers paid their salaries, but they aren't entitled to know the details of these employees' hiring, compensation over the years, or performance. North Carolina's personnel law virtually shuts down that information.

On Sunday, The News & Observer began a three-part series, Keeping Secrets, that looks at the personnel law, what it hides and how its secrecy compares with other states. Day One looked at employees who behave badly, while Day Two looked at patronage and cronyism. The series includes a survey of state lawmakers on the issue, as well as comments from top legislative leaders. The series concludes Tuesday with a look at compensation and employment histories.

A lawyer for Ruffin Poole is challenging an aspect of the allegations against Poole — that the longtime aide to former Gov. Mike Easley "carefully concealed" his financial dealings with a coastal developer by routing the payments through a family business.

In a new court filing, Poole lawyer Joseph Zeszotarski notes that prosecutors allege Poole "carefully concealed his receipt of ... income by having it funneled through a family corporation."

In the filing, Zeszotarski wrote that Poole "had no knowledge, prior to indictment, of anyone contending that he conducted his financial affairs in this manner. Not surprisingly, [Poole] disputes this characterization of the events."

Poole has not entered a plea, but has indicated in court filings that he will fight at least some of the charges against him.

Zeszotarski does not dispute that money went to Poole from a Wilmington financier, Lanny Wilson, after passing through a Poole family company. And Zeszotarski does not say in the filing what part of the government's characterization he specifically disputes.

The financial transactions are at the heart of the case against Poole, a lawyer who was a key figure in the Easley administration on permitting, appointments and political matters.

Poole, for example, did not disclose on required ethics forms that he received money from Wilson, who was a DOT board member and major political fundraiser. Poole did disclose receiving income from his family business.

The trial is set to begin in late April. But Poole wants more time to prepare.

The sides have been arguing over how much time is needed.

The indictment against Poole on 51 corruption charges arose out of a long-running probe that surrounds Easley, a Democrat who left office last year after serving two terms.

The government said it wants to wrap up the Poole case and its "broader investigation" soon.

Poole's team said the government has not said why it wants a trial in April or May.

"The Government's silence is telling — is there a reason for the Government's request for a quick trial date other than an unfair tactical advantage?" Zeszotarski wrote. He does not answer it.

Poole wants an August trial, arguing that will give him time to rebut the government's case. It is only fair to have several months to prepare, he argued.

A judge will decide.

— J. Andrew Curliss

Federal prosecutors say that a request for a trial delay by Ruffin Poole was made based on "three faulty premises" and that the trial should take place in April or May — not August, as Poole has sought.

The prosecutors also indicate they want to make decisions soon in a wide-ranging probe that surrounds former Gov. Mike Easley. They ask a judge to allow for any trial of Poole to be finished by June 4.

"It is in the public interest to conclude the prosecution of this defendant and the broader investigation as soon as practicable," they wrote in a new court filing.  

They said in the court filing that the charges against Poole arose from their broader investigation.

Poole, a longtime aide to Easley, is accused of 51 corruption charges related to allegations he invested in coastal real estate deals and took action to help them while he was a senior aide to the governor.

An attorney for Poole, in a filing last week, sought a delay by noting that the government has been preparing its case for about one year; that the volume of material gathered by the government requires extra time for Poole to prepare; and that Poole is outmanned by the government and so he deserves extra time.

Prosecutors disagreed. They said:

• The suggestion they have been investigating Poole for a year is "misleading."
They say the case against Poole came together in the August/September timeframe, indicating it was developed out of the larger probe surrounding Easley.
They say grand jury transcripts and other documents provided to Poole show that to be the case.

• Poole's defense team has been reviewing his criminal exposure since at least Sept. 2009.
They say a former FBI agent working for Poole began taking statements of potential trial witnesses in September, including in at least two cases interviewing witnesses before the federal government located the people.
They also point out that Poole avoided testifying at the state Board of Elections hearing in October, with Poole's lawyer involved in managing his potential criminal exposure.

• Poole's lawyer has "the advantage of the defendant's knowledge of how he arranged his financial dealings" and that knowledge should help him focus quickly on the most relevant records in mounting a defense.
They note that Poole's lawyer works for a major firm, Poyner Spruill, that touts its expertise, technological abilities and other abilities on its Web site.
They also say they and other agents have other duties and have not been focused on this case entirely.

The prosecutors also note that some of the charges against Poole deal with honest services fraud, an area of the law under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. But they say any action by the Supreme Court on that area is irrelevant because the evidence for those charges relates to others against Poole.

— J. Andrew Curliss

The federal government’s corruption case against Ruffin Poole, a longtime senior aide to former Gov. Mike Easley, is so massive that it would be unfair for a trial to take place as now scheduled in April, his lawyer argues in a new court filing.

Poole only recently began getting access to government files in the case.

The filing provides a peek into the volume of information the government has gathered in its probe surrounding Easley as various people visited the grand jury over the past year and agents conducted interviews.

The case against Poole involves allegations that Poole accepted gifts and money from development interests while he was taking government action to help them. At the time, Poole was a senior counsel to Easley who was generally known as his person to see on permits, appointments and other such matters.

The filing says the case includes:
• More than 36,500 pages of documents provided so far to Poole on discs, but that there are more to come.
• More than 160 files boxes and folders held in a room that Poole and his lawyer will be able to visit.
• More than 80 transcripts of secret grand jury testimony.

The documents include thousands of pages from Charlotte-area developers Gary and Randy Allen whose coastal real estate projects are in the middle of the probe, according to the court filing.

Poole lawyer Joseph Zeszotarski says in the court filing that the government has compiled the documents over the past year and has had two prosecutors and four agents reviewing them. But Poole and his lawyer have not been able to finish “even a cursory review” of the materials produced so far.

He argues that holding a trial 44 business days from the time he first received information from the government would deprive him of his right to a fair trail because it is inadequate time to analyze the records, interview witnesses and build a defense.

“Poole seeks only a level playing field, and the same opportunity to closely review and carefully analyze the documents in this case that the Government enjoyed in its investigation,” Zeszotarski wrote.

Zeszotarski said he is obligated to search the entire “haystack” of government material for any “needles” that can help his client.

“The ‘haystack’ is massive,” he wrote.

Poole wants an August trial. He had earlier sought an August trial but was denied one by Terrence Boyle, the federal judge overseeing the case.

The government had sought a May trial. Boyle set an April trial date, but said he would be open to a possible delay.

Zeszotarski indicated that prosecutors were aware of his new request for an August date, but said they would respond later in writing.

— J. Andrew Curliss

UPDATE: U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle signed the protective order, which remains under seal.

The federal government is seeking a protective order in the case of Ruffin Poole, a former aide to ex-Gov. Mike Easley, but is submitting its request to a judge under seal, which keeps the public from knowing exactly what it is about.

The request, filed this week under seal, "contains sensitive and confidential information as further explained in the pleading itself," prosecutors said in a court filing.

A judge has yet to act, and Poole has not responded.

The federal government said in its filing that if its attempt to keep the matter sealed is denied, then it wants two days to withdraw the sealed request.

Poole faces 51 corruption charges and the case is moving toward an April or May trial. The stage of the case now is dealing with the exchange of information from the government to Poole and his lawyers, known as discovery.

Federal rules allow the government to seek a protective order that places limits on what Poole can do with the information; the terms on obtaining the information; who may be present while the discovery is conducted and other such matters.

Prosecutors have declined all comment, other than in a statement when Poole was indicted by the grand jury in January.

— J. Andrew Curliss

On Friday The News & Observer published an article on the last minute quashing of a law trying to rein in escalating hospital costs for prison inmates. BlueCross BlueShield executives were not pleased that the article reported then-Sen. Tony Rand changed the language at the request of BlueCross BlueShield. 

On Friday CEO Brad Wilson came to the N&O board room to deliver a two pronged criticism of the article: BlueCross did not request that Rand gut the bill, and BlueCross was not acting out of self-interest. The article did not touch on the BlueCross' motivation or interest in the change. It did clearly say BlueCross requested the change in language. 

"We were asked by the State Health Plan to look at it," Wilson said. "They were very concerned about the provision."

Some background:The Senate passed a budget in April that had no provision to rein in inmate hospital costs. The House passed a budget in June dictating that hospitals be reimbursed for inmate care at 150 percent of Medicare. 

Interested parties discussed the issue for the next few weeks: legislators, BlueCross, the hospital association, the State Health Plan.

The conference budget passed with a new provision: tie the rate for inmates to the State Health Plan rates. 

BlueCross lobbyist Mark Fleming said he saw the new language and deemed it unconstitutional. After consulting a legislative staffer, Fleming said he went to Rand on the Senate floor. Rand agreed to get the law changed, and told Fleming to get him language quickly so Rand could insert it in the technical corrections bill. 

Who wrote the language that BlueCross sent to Rand? 

Fleming at first said the language was written by a legislative staffer.

Would a legislative staffer send language to a lobbyist so the lobbyist could forward it to a senator? 

"I don't recall," Fleming said. "I don't remember where the language came from."

BlueCross officials said the language in the budget conference was unconstitutional. The company also contends that the language as rewritten is unconstitutional.

The rewritten law removed language mandating that inmate bills be tied to State Health Plan rates.  

In a conference call Friday evening, Wilson agreed that BlueCross initiated and was the moving force behind the change in language, contacting legislative staff, Rand and the State Health Plan, and emailing them new language to change the law. 

"That is technically accurate," Wilson said. 

A state prosecutor said he started reviewing files on former Gov. Mike Easley this week that are part of a potential criminal case.

Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly is handling the criminal referral that was made in October by the state Board of Elections. But Kenerly had been focused on a murder trial for much of the time since his office received the case.

That trial ended last week with a guilty verdict.

Now, Kenerly said, he has more time to start reviewing the Easley case. He received transcripts of the five-day elections hearing and has talked with investigators about the case.

The elections board referral was a broad one, asking that any crimes be investigated, but it includes an allegation that Easley and longtime friend McQueen Campbell were part of a scheme to use $11,077 in campaign money for making repairs at Easley's residence. Easley also accepted a $5,400 insurance check for the repairs, though Cambell had paid for them out of his pocket, testimony and records show.

Easley has denied wrongdoing.

Kenerly could not predict when he will begin to make decisions.

— J. Andrew Curliss