News-Record.com

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

From the Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ A special state House ethics committee decided Thursday that Rep. Thomas Wright committed misconduct by failing to report $180,000 in campaign contributions, though the panel hasn't recommended a punishment.

The six-member House committee sided with state attorneys who said the donations went unreported between 2000 and 2004. The panel hadn't ruled on six other misconduct counts under consideration against Wright.

In all, the Wilmington Democrat is accused of misusing more than $340,000 in loans and campaign and charitable contributions. He faces a criminal trial later this month on similar charges.

The ethics panel, comprised evenly of Democrats and Republicans, could recommend that Wright be censured or expelled from office, a punishment that must be approved by the full House. No legislator has been removed from the General Assembly in 128 years.

During closing arguments Thursday, Special Deputy Attorney General Alexander Peters said testimony from State Board of Elections investigator Kim Strach showed that Wright intentionally avoided reporting the donations.

In four periodic campaign finance reports, Wright incorrectly reported receiving no contributions when he had received tens of thousands of dollars, Peters said.

Such activity "feeds the perception that deals might be made behind closed doors," Peters said. "No reasonable person can say this did not harm the integrity of the House."

Wright's lawyer, Irving Joyner, balked at the argument. He said hundreds of campaign committees amended their finance reports last year because candidates had made mistakes.

"Instead of prosecuting Thomas Wright, we should be encouraging him to amend his report," Joyner said.

Throughout the four-day hearing, state attorneys accused Wright of engaging in a pattern of unethical conduct while in office. They said he deposited donations into his personal bank account and used his charitable foundation to fraudulently obtain a loan.

"What we have seen is evidence of fraud. What we have seen is a violation of trust," state attorney Bill Hart told the panel. "What we have presented to you is a striking pattern of impropriety."

Wright, an eight-term lawmaker, has denied the allegations but declined to present evidence during hearing.

His attorney, Irving Joyner, said information presented by the state was murky and unclear. Joyner also complained during closing arguments that Wright was at a legal disadvantage because the charges were levied by the same panel that heard evidence and testimony.

"Rep. Wright did not come into this chamber protected by the presumption of innocence because you had already removed that presumption from him when you issued these claims," Joyner said. "So is this fair and impartial? Not in America. Not in North Carolina."

The remaining misconduct counts accuse Wright of using his pull as a lawmaker to persuade a state official to write a bogus letter he needed to secure a $150,000 loan for his foundation. State attorneys also said Wright deposited $8,900 of charitable donations into a personal banking account.

Joyner also said there wasn't enough evidence to show Wright wrongly deposited charitable donations into his account or fraudulently obtained a bank loan. Wright wanted to use loan proceeds to purchase a downtown Wilmington building and turn it into a museum commemorating the city's 1898 race riots.