Mar 07, 2008
Expel Wright, panel advises 
Legislator rebuked for ethics breaches
David Ingram - Charlotte Observer

RALEIGH - A state House panel voted unanimously Thursday to recommend the expulsion of Rep. Thomas E. Wright for a series of ethics violations that the panel's chairman called "breathtaking" in its level of fraud. 
After four days of evidence during a historic hearing, Wright's colleagues concluded that he had lied to them, disgraced his oath of office and sullied the reputation of the General Assembly. 
 
"To allow someone to continue in public service, after violating the law likely hundreds of times over the years, would hinder, in ways I can't even imagine, the House's ability to govern," said Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat and chairman of the panel. 
 
The recommendation sets up what would be the first expulsion of a North Carolina legislator since the 19th century. A spokesman for House Speaker Joe Hackney said no date for a vote has been set but that it might come after Wright's criminal trial, set to begin March 31. That could make the vote moot, because felons are barred from holding office. 
 
By unanimous votes, the panel adopted six separate ethics charges related to Wright's handling of almost $350,000 from his campaign, a charity and three corporations. 
 
In particular, Wright's colleagues condemned his failure to disclose to the public $180,000 in campaign contributions and other transactions since 2000. 
 
"There was massive fraud," Glazier said, "perpetrated by the deliberate decision, made year in and year out, through 22 reporting periods, to not disclose." 
 
Wright, a Wilmington Democrat, looked on mostly in silence as the panel voted on the six ethics charges. He bit his lip and rocked in his chair, occasionally speaking with his attorneys. 
 
Wright leaves early 
 
Then he left. He said he would not bother to stay while the panel debated an appropriate punishment because he considered a recommendation for expulsion a foregone conclusion. 
 
"I'm highly disappointed in my colleagues," Wright told reporters. "This rush to judgment from Day One is politically motivated -- clearly. I am an elected official. I am their peer. How dare my colleagues sit in judgment and pass judgment on me?" 
 
A Wake County grand jury indicted Wright last year on six felony counts, including obstruction of justice and obtaining property by false pretenses. 
 
Wright has refused to resign. He is running for re-election. 
 
The bipartisan six-member panel began hearing evidence about Wright's financial irregularities Monday. For two days, Wright's attorneys overshadowed witnesses' testimony by leveling accusations of racism. 
 
Wright's attorneys declined to present evidence, suggesting that doing so would put Wright at a disadvantage in the criminal trial. 
 
As they considered each charge, the panel members' criticism of Wright was at times withering. 
 
'Massive violation' 
 
"This seems to be a massive violation of the campaign-finance laws that protect not only the public but also the contributors who gave to Representative Wright," said Rep. Paul Stam, the House Republican leader and vice chairman of the panel. 
 
Several members praised Wright's intentions in setting up a health center in Wilmington that serves a poor, mostly black population. Investigators found that he also set up a foundation, solicited donations for that foundation and then pocketed the $8,900 he got. 
 
"Initially, I think the intentions were very, very amiable, and they were certainly needed," said Rep. Marvin Lucas, a Spring Lake Democrat and the panel's only black member. "Beyond that, I don't know what happened there." 
 
The panel found that Wright acted deceitfully when he persuaded a state official to write a letter stating, falsely, that Wright's foundation would be receiving a $150,000 grant. The letter helped Wright get a bank loan, according to testimony. The official, who says Wright pressured him, was forced to resign. 
 
"Placing any state employee in that position is just untenable," Glazier said. "Legislators cannot be allowed to do this." 
 
Wright is the most recent legislator to face scrutiny in a series of investigations of official corruption in Raleigh. He was a close ally of former House Speaker Jim Black, a Matthews Democrat now serving a federal prison sentence for corruption. 
 
Joe Sinsheimer, a former Democratic campaign consultant who initiated the inquiry of Wright, applauded the panel. 
 
"After two and a half years of investigations of its top leadership, the House today finally took public responsibility for the corruption in its own ranks," Sinsheimer wrote in an e-mail message.  
 
 
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