With stellar legal defense like that Mary Easley is pretty bold holding out for a $700K buyout. Jim Black had friends too. Eventually they turned state’s evidence.

What I’ve never understood, however, is how NCSU could hire her for an Executive in Residence post despite the fact that Mary Easley has never been an executive — anywhere. She’s been an assistant DA, run her own law firm, taught some legal classes on the side — and been First Lady of North Carolina. That’s it.

So in a way, NCSU and the UNC system deserve every bit of pain and embarrassment they now endure. The honest taxpayers of the state, not so much.