The Wake school system's involvement in the Jim Black scandal goes to court today.
As noted in today's article, a Wake judge is expected to give Black a concurrent sentence on his state corruption charges after he settled the remaining half of his $1 million fine by deeding over 9.5 acres of undeveloped land in Matthews to the school system.
The deal is raising questions from some quarters in Wake, especially from school board member Ron Margiotta.
Margiotta says Wake should have gotten cash instead of being given land it will have to turn around and sell. He also argues that board members should have been notified ahead of time about the land transfer.
Margiotta is going to have a lot of questions at Tuesday's board meeting when the board votes to declare the land as surplus, allowing it to be sold.
School system attorneys, who were involved in the negotiations for the land deal, appear to be taking a two-pronged response.
On one hand, Ann Majestic, the board's attorney, said the decision to accept the land was made by Wake DA Colon Willoughby and Judge Donald Stephens. She does say that attorneys from her firm were involved but didn't have the final say.
While Wake gets the fine money, Majestic said it wasn't a debt to the school system. She said it's different from the school transportation fraud case, in which money was taken from Wake so they had a more active role.
But at the same time, Majestic said they supported the decision to accept the land.
"The school system is thankful for the hard work of the District Attorney," Majestic said. "The school system will benefit from this."
Willoughby is also defending the deal.
Willoughby said one of the things they were trying to avoid was Black being able to argue that he could avoid paying the fine by serving 30 days in jail. That's the legal argument being used by one of the people convicted in the transportation fraud case to try to avoid paying a $500,000 fine.
Willoughy said the eventual resale of the land by the school system will allow Wake to recoup most of and possibly even more than the fine amount. He said it's rare for major fines to be collected.
As to the questions about board notification, Majestic said they followed their standard practice when it comes to collecting fines. She said that staff typically gets the fine money without contacting the board ahead of time.
Comments
What?
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 15:45 — designmanStephens said, "Criticism from those receiving the gift really kind of puts a chilling effect on judges and the courts system that are working really hard for their benefit,..."
A GIFT? Did he say a "gift?" Did he follow the law or did he not? Stephens is not Santa Claus. What gives Stephens the authority to impose a fine on a citizen -- criminal or not -- in an effort to offer a "gift" to the school system? It is not the job of a judge to work for the "benefit" of the recipient of a fine that has no relationship to the crime, his job is to facilitate justice. I don't even see the connection between Wake County Schools and the judgment against Black. Was Stephens doing someone a favor? If so, why?
I think some investigation is needed. Were past judgments and fines gifted to Wake County Schools in a way that did not promote justice? Can any criminal barter with the state instead of paying a fine with cash? Lots of questions are emerging from Stephens arrogant display.
I'll be interested to see
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 12:21 — shearertwI'll be interested to see what realtor will get the commission with the land is sold and who will be the lucky buyer that will likely get this property at a steal.
jeez, judge, make up your mind---(who is the REAL idiot?)
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 12:06 — AngelaWhttp://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/5586847/
Judge overrules complaints about fine in Black sentencing
Calling complaints about how a criminal fine was paid "idiotic," a Superior Court judge on Thursday sentenced former House Speaker Jim Black to 11 to months months in prison on an obstruction of justice charge
Complaints over fine delay Black sentencing
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 12:04 — AngelaWStephens withheld sentencing on the charge two years ago until Black paid off a $1 million fine imposed in the case. Black paid $500,000 of the fine in cash last summer. Two months ago, Stephens signed off on an agreement to transfer the title of property owned by Black in Matthews, N.C., to settle the balance of the fine. By law, the $1 million fine goes to the Wake County school district, and the judge said Thursday that he learned some school board members were opposed to the land deal used to settle the fine http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/5586847/
Does not pass smell test
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:01 — designmanIt is very, very difficult for me to believe that it is "standard practice" to pay fines with real estate of indeterminate value. The situation already smelled bad, now the explanation has added to the stench.
...
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 10:36 — SideburnsHui,
Whose standard practice is Majestic following? Her law firm's or WCPSS's? Who on WCPSS staff is in charge of collecting these fines? Are there other instances where these fines have been collected in other means than cash?
Thanks.
To be fair, Wake gets about
Fri, 07/17/2009 - 07:54 — KeungHui (author)To be fair, Wake gets about $4 million in fines and forfeitures a year. These case don't generally go to the school board ahead of time. The exception was the school transportation fraud case fines.
Fines are handled by staff and the attorneys. That being said, it's also clear that what Wake gets generally isn't as controversial as the Black deal.
Hui, Do you know whether
Fri, 07/17/2009 - 08:04 — CaryCurmudgeonHui,
Do you know whether any of these other fines have ever been paid in anything other than cash?
Don't know. At most would be
Fri, 07/17/2009 - 10:11 — KeungHui (author)Don't know. At most would be unusual.
Standard Practice...?
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:09 — Bob_SconceLet's back up here. Why is WCPSS getting the land *at all*? After all, Jim Black didn't do anything to WCPSS.
The answer is that under the NC Constitution, fines have to go to the local school districts. But, until 2005, the state government was not doing that. (See http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2170748/ ).
I suggest that you don't often see the situation where defendants offer to pay their fines by transferring real property instead of using cash. So, it could easily be that this was the first time that this has ever come up in Wake County.
If so, calling what happened "standard practice" is a bit disingenuous. It's like saying "When I happen to be trampled by bulls, my standard practice is to go to a redi-med and not the hospital."
Thanks for the background
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 14:51 — user1234Thanks for the background ... I had that question ..
1) I figured there are a lot of lawyers on either side and if something unethical (over valuing property) is being done they should all understand that.
2) If Del or the previous folks never involved the BOE before than I could understand why it would not be done this time. Maybe they get millions in fines every year and this is day to day business.
3) If Del makes $300k/yr it seems like he can make a $1M decision. We will find out what instructions the BOE gave him on this subject when hired. If he has no BOE constraints shame on the BOE.
So, I figure it will all come out over time and may not be as juicy as it first sounds. Maybe WCPSS and CMT have an agreement to swap land to benefit both? It will all come out and be resolved.
From what the judge says it looks like everyone is not in the loop or he is in on it ???
"Criticism from those receiving the gift really kind of puts a chilling effect on judges and the courts system that are working really hard for their benefit," Stephens said. "It is not appreciated. I don't even understand it, quite frankly. In my 25 years on the bench, I have never seen anything quite like that."
"
it's not a gift
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 22:15 — loriac"Criticism from those receiving the gift really kind of puts a chilling effect on judges and the courts system that are working really hard for their benefit," Stephens said.
Repeat - it's not a gift.
http://www.reportpublic
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 22:19 — AngelaWhttp://www.reportpubliccorruption.org/blog/when-is-a-gift-a-bribe-20.html
When is a Gift a Bribe?
Jimmy Dimora’s claims in corruption investigation raise the question: When does a goodwill gesture become a bribe?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
John Caniglia
Cleveland Plain Dealer Reporter
they didn't collect the fine!
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 10:06 — loriacMajestic said they followed their standard practice when it comes to collecting fines.
They didn't collect the fine! They collected some land, whose value is in question. What possible reason can they give for accepting land, instead of money? Why wouldn't Jim Black sell the land and just pay the fine? If it were worth $500K or more, that's exactly what he would have done. Why is Ron Margiotta the lone voice of outrage on the BOE? The silence from our elected officials is deafening.... there must be more to this stink pile than anyone knows.
"As to the questions about
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 07:27 — CaryCurmudgeon"As to the questions about board notification, Majestic said they followed their standard practice when it comes to collecting fines. She said that staff typically gets the fine money without contacting the board ahead of time."
Just like NCSU followed the "standard practice" in hiring Mary Easley. Of course, if they had simply collected money owed, no board review should have been necessary. But this was not a case of simply collecting fines, it was a very questionable land deal. If they have a "standard practice" for that then we are in serious trouble.