A former state senator says he funneled contributions for former state Rep. Michael Decker through N.C. House Speaker Jim Black.
Lobbyist A.P. “Sandy” Sands served in the N.C. Senate before running unsuccessfully for Congress in 1994. In 2002 and 2003, he was working for the Womble Carlyle law firm.
Sands testified this afternoon that he and colleagues in his law firm raised as much as $2,500 for Decker’s campaign. He told the elections board he turned the money over to Black. “I got the checks in, and I transmitted them to the speaker, to the best of my knowledge,” Sands said.
Pressed about the reason for his decision to support Decker, Sands drew a blank. He testified that he could not remember why he decided to support Decker. Sands also said he could not remember why he gave the money to Black.
