From the U.S. Attorney’s office:
RALEIGH – United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that a Federal Grand Jury returned a sealed Criminal Indictment on October 1, 2008, charging DAVID LEE BRADY, 75, OF Raleigh, North Carolina, and JAMES ALBERT PERRY, JR., 62, of Wake Forest, North Carolina, with conspiring to commit extortion under the color of official right (Hobbs Act) and bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, aiding and abetting extortion, aiding and abetting bribery.?
PERRY was charged individually with two counts of perjury, while BRADY was charged individually with three counts of perjury and one count of making a false statement to a federal agent.? The Indictment was unsealed today.
As alleged in the Indictment, PERRY, the former Mayor of Wake Forest, BRADY, a successful business[man?], and others formed a company named Agri-Ethanol Products LLC (AEP) for the purpose of building a $220 million ethanol production facility in Aurora, North Carolina.? In order to attract the capital investment and bank financing necessary to fund this project, it was necessary to first secure the necessary permits from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).? In order to expedite the permit process, PERRY, BRADY, and others entered into an agreement with a high-level DENR official named Boyce Hudson under which Hudson agreed to use his influence to assist AEP with permit issues in exchange for the payment of approximately $196,000.? Hudson has pleaded guilty to extortion and money laundering and has been sentenced to 40* months.?
Don Carrington, who reported on the Hudson guilty plea, will have more on these latest developments tomorrow morning in the Carolina Journal Online exclusive.
*An earlier version of this post said “48 months.” The U.S. Attorney’s office sent a corrected news release.
