12:42 p.m. Easley will pay $1,000 plus court costs. He’ll also provide a DNA sample. The court session is over.
12:41 p.m. Smith accepts the plea.
12:40 p.m. Easley has been involved in campaigns since 1982. Campaigns have made errors. The candidate must accept responsibility. The buck stops with him.
12:39 p.m. Easley speaks.
12:38 p.m. Cheshire thanks “good lawyers” on all sides.
12:37 p.m. Judge Smith notes that the flight itself would have led only to a misdemeanor charge.
12:36 p.m. The evidence is “hotly contested.”
12:35 p.m. Kennerly says he found no evidence that money was used illegally. Instead there were reporting violations.
12:34 p.m. Kennerly says he did not find any evidence to move forward with issues other than campaign finance issues.
12:32 p.m. On April 17, 2009, in failing to note the October 2006 flight, Easley committed his crime.
12:30 p.m. The case is tied to a flight provided by McQueen Campbell to Easley in October 2006 for a campaign fundraiser for the Bladen/Brunswick/Columbus district attorney. The total value of the flight was $1,600.
12:29 p.m. The case is tied to a 2009 amendment to a 2006 campaign finance report.
12:28 p.m. Kennerly recapping case for Judge Osmond Smith.
12:25 p.m. Easley admits the facts in the case are consistent with an Alford plea.
12:23 p.m. The official charge is certifiying a campaign financial report knowing information in the report was not correct.
12:22 p.m. Easley answers “yes” when asked if he understands he’s pleading guilty.
12:21 p.m. Easley is answering the judge’s questions.
12:20 p.m. Easley’s attorney, Joseph Cheshire, enters the plea.
12:14 p.m. The fine is $1,000.
12:13 p.m. Kennerly confirms Easley’s Alford plea to a class I felony for “failure to report” campaign contributions. The date of the offense is April 17, 2009. (Bill Kennerly is the Rowan County district attorney assigned to handle the state case against Easley.)
12:03 p.m. The former governor is chatting with his attorney in Judge Donald Stephens courtroom.
