It’s safe to say no one present at the federal courthouse today expected to learn that former House Speaker Jim Black pocketed $25,000 in cash from chiropractors.
Within the five-page “factual basis” submitted as part of the plea agreement, the item that jumped out at me was the following:
On December 3, 2005, a fund-raiser for Speaker Black as held by a group of chiropractors at the Capital Grille in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the fund-raiser, a chiropractor met Speaker Black in a restroom in order to secretly deliver to Speaker Black a $3,000 cash payment. When a restaurant employee entered the restroom, the chiropractor and Speaker Black stepped just outside the restroom and completed the delivery. Upon receiving the $3,000 in cash, Speaker Black stated to the chiropractor, “This is just between me and you. Don’t you ever tell anybody about this.”
In August 2006, aware that three chiropractors faced subpoenas to face the grand jury:
Black suggested that the three chiropractors should tell the Grand Jury that the cash payments to Speaker Black consisted of “a little bit of money to help [Black] with expenses along the road while [Black] was running around the country.
Reaction quotes will follow shortly.
