http://www.wral.com/news/10088897/detail.html
Black Legal Fund Accepting PAC Money

POSTED: 7:07 pm EDT October 16, 2006
UPDATED: 7:07 pm EDT October 16, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The head of House Speaker Jim Black's legal defense fund has accepted money for the fund from a political action committee affiliated with one of the state's largest unions.

The legal fund received a $5,000 check dated Aug. 25 from "Drive PAC," an arm of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to election reports and legal fund organizer Addison Bell.

The money is going to help pay Black's legal bills over the past year as state and federal investigators have looked into fundraising by his campaign and people close to him in connection to the passage of last year's lottery.

At least two newspapers reported earlier this year that Bell had said the defense fund would not accept contributions from lobbyists or political action committees. Bell said last week he was quoted incorrectly.

"We will accept PAC money," Bell, a Matthews businessman, told the Charlotte Observer. "I remember saying `lobbyists,' not `PACs.' "

Political action committees are normally limited to giving a maximum of $4,000 per candidate per election, but can make unlimited contributions to legal defense funds.

According to state law, contributions and expenditures to legal defense funds don't have to be disclosed by the fund's operators.

Political action committees must identify such donations. Bell said the Teamsters-related check is the only contribution so far from a political action committee. He has declined to release the fund's records.

The state Senate plans to study defense funds and other election issues before the General Assembly convenes in late January.

"People have a right to know who is giving money to public officials," said Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. "And the public can draw their own conclusions on whether or not that has an influence on the official's actions."

Drive PAC identified the donation in a 222-page filing with the Federal Election Commission. The report shows the contributions went to Black's optometry office in Charlotte.

The legal defense fund was started in March by Bell and former Charlotte City Council member Stan Campbell. Attorney General Roy Cooper and Gov. Mike Easley last year approved Black's office spending up to $30,000 in the state funds to respond to records request from federal investigators.

In March, a state attorney rejected a request for an additional $170,000.

In addition to the subpoenas, Black's office and campaign have had other legal troubles, including a State Board of Elections ruling this year that Black's campaign accepted illegal corporate contributions and incomplete checks.

He also was required to testify recently in the trial of ex-lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings, who was Black's choice to the panel. A federal jury last week convicted Geddings of mail fraud. Black has not been charged with any crime.

The Teamsters has 15,000 members in North Carolina and operates local chapters in three cities, representing truckers, Miller Brewing Co. workers in Eden and others.

The "Drive PAC" also gave $20,000 to the N.C. House Democratic Caucus on Aug. 31, according to records. A federal political action committee like the Drive PAC can give unlimited amounts of money to state parties.

The national Teamsters union referred questions about the contributions to a union official in Greensboro. A representative of the office didn't immediately return a phone call Monday.




I CAN DO IT TOO PRYDERI
LOOK AT ME, I'M A CHEERLEADER AND BLINDLY FOLLOW A PARTY


[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 11:33 AM. Reason : .]

10/17/2006 11:22:04 AM

fuck jim black though

nothing partisan here...this guy is corrupt as hell...maybe i have just heard about him more since i live in charlotte but this guy is scum

10/17/2006 11:39:16 AM

Bad apples in all parties.

I don't get why people are so up in arms about party liners.

You know pryderi is a lib, yet you still get pissed when he posts something left leaning. Did you expect something different?

Are you offended by it?

Stop making the emphasis about the partisanship, and either discuss the posting or just leave it alone.


This post would be fine, lets talk about it, no need to add your 2 cents at the bottom, it just doesn't do anything for anyone other than get a fight started.

Lets be a bit more mature about this stuff.






[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 11:42 AM. Reason : ^ I agree with this guy, this state would be best served if Jim Black were bannished to hell.]

10/17/2006 11:41:09 AM

local politicians are usually sleazy as hell

just like all of their friends in DC


^ it was sarcasm

there are plenty of people fucking us from either party, some choose not to acknowlege it

[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 11:42 AM. Reason : .]

10/17/2006 11:41:29 AM

Quote :

"some choose not to acknowlege it"

And everyone knows who they are, moving right along.

10/17/2006 11:43:13 AM

funny


and sad

10/17/2006 11:45:36 AM

is it any news that unions are corrupt? im glad we've done all we can to keep them out of this state. its only a matter of time before we either get rid of them in the name of freer markets or they just simply become obsolete

[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 3:17 PM. Reason : .]

10/17/2006 3:15:12 PM

seriously Jim Black needs to go. He is going to single handedly give the GOP the NC General Assembly.

10/17/2006 4:21:33 PM

^^ I agree, work weeks should be 80 hours long and people should work in coal minds without masks.

[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 4:44 PM. Reason : ^^]

10/17/2006 4:44:23 PM

i know plenty of people at my work from up north that came down to north carolina because the unions lost them their jobs

but whatever you say

[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 4:45 PM. Reason : .]

10/17/2006 4:45:22 PM

ha im just being worthless at work.

but seroiusly Randy clogs up threads with retarded rhetoric 24/7

10/17/2006 4:46:49 PM

Unions are plenty important in the North where industry is still a very big market. I don't expect NC to have Unions because the state is far more agriculturally based. They still have more benefits then drawbacks in places like NYC though, despite the ongoing corruption.

I don't usually get in on SoapBox threads but I do read them and Randy stinks of someone who thinks national policies should only benefit the part of the country that he is familiar with to be honest.

[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 7:10 PM. Reason : x]

10/17/2006 7:09:33 PM

Just a pet peeve of mine, but this...

Quote :

"pwrstrkdf250: Jim Black (D-NC) being shady"

...is not accurate. Jim Black's not a state official. He doesn't represent all of North Carolina; he represents Mecklenburg County.

The proper notation would be Jim Black (D-Mecklenburg).

10/18/2006 4:03:49 PM

the important part is the D, Kay.

10/18/2006 4:04:42 PM

Quote :

"The proper notation would be Jim Black (D-Mecklenburg)."

or more appropriately... Boss Jim Black.

10/18/2006 10:34:17 PM

^^ Point taken, but if he's going to get drummed out of office, it's up to Mecklenburg County voters.

10/18/2006 11:51:37 PM

Does this democrat have young boy page-lust?

10/18/2006 11:54:54 PM