Easley Scandal Cast of Characters: A primer on the players in Raleigh's newest political drama

Updated April 19, 2010

George Holding: The Raleigh-based federal prosecutor, a Bush appointee, has scored some points as a crusader against political corruption. His “kills” have included former Agriculture Secretary Meg Scott Phipps, former US congressman Frank Ballance, and former state Speaker of the House Jim Black. He has now set his sights on former US Senator John Edwards, accused of using campaign funds to pay off his mistress; former Governor Mike Easley; and former First Lady Mary Easley.

Erskine Bowles: The Easley controversies may have done some damage to the UNC system president’s reputation as a fair-minded, non-partisan manager. In September 2008, Bowles was leading the chorus in defense of Mrs. Easley, her job at NC State, and her salary.

"I am convinced the proposed salary fits the job and is totally justified," UNC system President Erskine Bowles said prior to the UNC system's Board of Governor's unanimous vote on the matter. "This is a big, complex job."

Fast forward to May 2009. The US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina is investigating the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Easley’s employment at the Raleigh campus. After NC State’s chancellor called for Mrs. Easley’s resignation, a spokesperson for Bowles said the UNC system president "shares Chancellor Oblinger's belief that it would be in NC State's best interest for Mary Easley to resign."

(It’s funny how a federal grand jury probe can change someone’s perspective.)

James Oblinger: The chancellor of NC State University has found himself in the middle of the scandal surrounding his school’s employment of North Carolina’s former first lady. Like UNC President Bowles, he initially defended the decision to hire Mrs. Easley. Once the federal probe became public, he joined Bowles in calling for Mrs. Easey to resign. Oblinger was subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury investigating the Easleys.

Larry Nielsen: The NC State University provost --- the campus’ second ranking administrator – resigned his post effective May 22. He is widely credited as the person responsible for creating a position for Mary Easley and securing a generous salary for that position. Like his boss James Oblinger, Nielson was also subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury.

Phil Berger: The state Senate’s Republican leader has been the most vocal Republican critic of the Easleys and state Democrats’ response to the scandal. He has written letters and issued a number of statements calling for legislative hearings and a special prosecutor to look into the Easley controversies. Berger criticized state Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat, for his lack of attention to the allegations against the Easleys. He has also criticized Mary Easley’s decision not to resign per position at NC State, suggesting that the legislature should de-fund her post.

Marc Basnight: The state Senate’s (forever) president, a Democrat, Basnight definitively gave two thumbs down to the idea of hearings in the legislature about the Easley controversies.

McQueen Campbell: The Raleigh-based realtor, developer and close Easley family friend has become a central figure in the Easley investigation. As chairman of NC State University’s board of trustees, he was involved in the process of creating the job and providing a salary for Mary Easley. He flew then-Gov. Easley on a number of the private plane flights that are currently the subject of the grand jury’s investigation. Campbell’s name has also come up in connection with a Carteret County "Cannonsgate" real estate deal, where Easley got a “sweetheart” deal on a piece of property. The feds are also looking into that situation.

Ruffin Poole: After joining Easley's team while he was still serving as the state's Attorney General, the young lawyer moved on with Easley to the Governor's Mansion and quickly became known as the governor's "go-to" guy, earning the nickname "the Little Governor." Easley handed over many of the details of keeping his political supporters happy to Poole, whether they involved expedited permitting on developments to appointments to boards & commissions. Poole took advantage of his relationship with the governor to create financial opportunities for himself as well. After refusing to testify at the State Board of Elections hearing into Easley's affairs in October 2009, Poole was indicted on 51 counts of racketeering, money laundering, bribery, extortion, and other corruption charges.  Six additional counts were added in March 2010, bringing the total to 57.  Poole pled not guilty to all charges in April, but struck a deal with prosecutors later that same month in which he pled guilty to only one charge of tax evasion (for the Cannonsgate deal) and agreed to cooperate with investigators.  Judge Terrence Boyle accepted the plea, but suspended sentencing until the conclusion of the federal investigation.

Bob Jordan: The former lieutenant governor and Democrat nominee for North Carolina governor has been appointed to finish the unexpired term of McQueen Campbell as chairman of the NCSU board of trustees. Jordan has kept a low profile in state politics since losing the 1988 race for governor to Republican Jim Martin.

Bobby Bleecker: A Fayetteville car dealer who provided a vehicle for use by the family of former Gov. Mike Easley, Bleecker has been interviewed by federal authorities as part of a grand jury investigation.

"Bobby Bleecker has been advised by the US Attorney's office that he is not the target of the grand jury investigation and that he is only a witness," Gardner Altman, Bleecker's corporate lawyer, said in a statement. "The company has nothing to hide. Bobby ... cooperated fully and truthfully because he sees no reason why he should not respond to any of their questions."

In media interviews, Bleecker could not explain why Mike Easley Jr., a UNC law student, was driving a 2000 GMC Yukon that a Bleecker dealership bought in 2003 and had owned since. Bleecker's dealership was the listed insurer of the vehicle and had made the car's property tax payments in Robeson County, home to a Bleecker dealership.

The former governor had said the vehicle his son was driving was part of a lease, but no records on file with the state Division of Motor Vehicles support that.

(The Easley camp finally decided on the explanation that the Yukon had been a campaign vehicle. )

Rick Hendrick: The Charlotte-based car dealer and NASCAR driving team owner is described as a long time friend and supporter of former Governor Easley.

Records obtained by media sources show that Easley traveled on a Hendrick racing team jet in 2008 to Hendrick's retreat on a Florida island. Hendrick paid for the trip.

In response to media inquiries, Hendrick said: "The trip you're referring to was personal, and I paid for it personally." He didn't provide the cost and said it was the only such trip the two have taken.

Records also show that former first lady Mary Easley has been driving a new $30,000 Honda Accord that the Easleys didn't buy until the News & Observer began questioning her free use of the vehicle in March 2008. The car belonged to one of Hendrick's Charlotte dealerships, which bought it in the final week of Easley's administration.

Easley said in an e-mailed statement to the media that the Honda was a "loaner" that his wife was using until "her car comes in." The Easleys declined to provide documentation of that order.
In 1997, Hendrick pleaded guilty to a federal felony mail-fraud charge that stemmed from an investigation alleging he gave cash and cars to Honda executives in the 1990s to secure a larger allotment of Honda Accords to sell to the public.

One executive was asked in court what Hendrick had expected in return for cash.  "Favorable treatment in every way," the executive said.

Hendrick, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1996, spent a year under house arrest and was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.  Media interviews and documents show that while Easley was in office, the governor and Hendrick maintained a close relationship and that Easley helped Hendrick's interests with legislation and other actions.

Cameron McRae: A businessman from Kinston, McRae was appointed by Easley to the NC Department of Transportation’s board. Media reports have identified McRae as one of the private plane owners who provided those flights federal investigators are so interested in.

McRae was obligated to disclose the flights by a state law requiring DOT board members to show their campaign activities. The law is aimed at providing openness surrounding the political activities of those who serve on the influential board, which oversees roads, rails and air transportation issues in the state.  Violation of the disclosure law is a misdemeanor unless done with deceit, in which case it is a felony.

McRae has acknowledged flying Easley at least twice in his corporate plane. Those flights, when combined with campaign contributions from McRae, may have exceeded campaign contribution limits or violated a state ban on business contributions.

McRae's lawyer Charles Marshall said Wednesday night that all the flights may not have required disclosure and questioned whether the law prescribes a specific penalty.

McRae operates Bojangles franchises, develops land and is owner of the Kinston Indians baseball team. He is developing a private island he owns in the Bahamas.

On May 20, McRae submitted his resignation from the DOT board to Governor Perdue. She has accepted.

Rusty Carter: A Wilmington packaging company president and college fraternity brother to Easley, Carter flew the governor to an Outer Banks event a couple of weeks before the 2004 election, records show. The listed purpose: "Fundraiser for Governor Mike Easley." But public campaign records show Carter also donated $4,000 to the Easley campaign on Oct. 6, 2004. That means the value of his flight, which took place Oct. 22, 2004, and was not disclosed, would have exceeded allowable campaign contribution limits.

Easley twice appointed Carter as a trustee at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Cress Horne: Owner of a helicopter company known for filming movie scenes, Horne flew Easley from Southport to Monroe to Raleigh for a campaign fundraiser in 2003. The fundraiser was organized by state Board of Transportation member Larry Helms; there are no records of payment associated with the flight. Horne also gave Easley's campaign $4,000, the legal limit for campaign contributions.

Easley appointed Horne to the state Aeronautics Council.

V. Parker Overton: A developer and retired founder of a water sport company based in Greenville, Overton flew Easley to a Democratic governor's policy conference on Nov. 13-14, 2003 at posh Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Easley didn't pay for it, Overton said. He does not serve on any state boards. He said he agreed to provide the flight as a way to curry goodwill that might help places he cares about: East Carolina University, N.C. State University or Eastern North Carolina.

"If the governor calls you up and needs the plane, you do it," Overton said. "I'd do it for [Gov. Beverly] Perdue if she called or that fellow she beat ... Pat McCrory."

Overton had already provided $3,000 in money and in-kind contributions to Easley, which would have placed him near the limit for contributions. A month after the trip, records show he funneled another $6,000 through the state Democratic Party for "in-kind" travel.

Dell Murphy: A farmer and son of pork baron and NC State booster Wendell Murphy, he flew Easley to Washington, DC, and then Atlanta within a week in late 2003, according to the state records.  Both trips were fundraisers, but the travel was not listed in Easley's year-end campaign finance report.

In February 2004, Murphy is listed as giving $4,100 in travel services to the state Democratic Party.

On the same day, another aviation donor, Thomas Segrave, provided $4,317 in travel services to the party. That totals $8,417, with both donations exceeding limits if they went directly to Easley.

About six weeks later, in April, the state party reported providing travel for Easley. The amount from the party to Easley that day: $8,417.

"We will definitely be looking into all of this," said Kim Strach, who oversees campaign finance enforcement for the State Board of Elections.

Kay Hagan: As a member of the president’s party, the newly-elected Democratic US Senator from Greensboro holds significant influence over who replaces George Holding as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Democrats, concerned about Bush-appointee Holding’s aggressive pursuit of Democrat politicians, are looking to Hagan for some relief. Hagan assembled a volunteer advisory committee to help her select a suitable replacement for Holding.

But one day after the media spotted fellow task force member Locke Clifford at the Easley’s Raleigh home, Hagan publicly endorsed keeping Holding in his position until his probes of the Easleys and former Senator John Edwards are complete.

“I don't feel it's in North Carolina's best interest to replace someone who is investigating these two very high profile people," said Hagan. "I just think that with investigations going on, he ought to have the opportunity to complete the investigations."

Hagan clearly understands the value of perception.

Alan Melvin: A veteran state trooper, Melvin headed the special detail that guarded the First Family during the Easley’s time in office. Melvin accompanied then-Gov. Easley on all of his official travels, including the private flights currently being probed by the federal grand jury. Members of the media spotted Melvin visiting the former governor’s residence, with a package in hand, on the day after Governor Perdue ordered the release of Easley’s travel records. The document dump to the media did not include any information for the year 2005. What happened to the travel records for 2005? Were they in the package Melvin delivered to the Easley residence? (Melvin says his visit was purely personal.)

Currently on administrative leave from his information technology position with the Highway Patrol, Melvin appeared before the federal grand jury investigating the Easley's.

Marvin Schiller: A prominent Raleigh attorney, Schiller is providing legal representation to Mary Easley during the probe of her employment at NC State. During a May 21 press conference, Schiller read several rosy performance evaluations of Easley, including one from one of the very officials now calling for her resignation.

The controversy around Mrs. Easley is a "theater of the absurd," Schiller said, emphasizing that Easley will not leave without a fight, or perhaps a buyout of the remaining four years of her five-year, $850,000 contract.

"Mary Easley plans to continue to make outstanding contributions to North Carolina State University and the state of North Carolina," Schiller said.