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
J. Andrew Curliss covered state and local politics and government for The News & Observer for more than a decade before joining the investigative team in December 2008.
Contact him at
Comments
WOW
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 00:22 — quit_yer_ditchinI thought there'd be all sorts of hoopla in the comments for this news, but this blog, like all the others here, is so darn hard to find unless the story is linked up to the front page <palm to forehead>
Godspeed Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly!