Friday, June 27, 2008

Black Fine

Former House Speaker Jim Black has paid half of his $1 million fine on a state political corruption conviction, his lawyer said Thursday. Black is currently serving a five-year prison term in federal prison on a separate federal corruption conviction. The $500,000 payment helps him for now avoid receiving state prison time after he leaves federal custody. Black was supposed to pay the entire fine by July, or he could face nearly two years in prison on a plea he made last year to a bribery charge. But Superior Court Judge Don Stephens agreed Thursday to give him six more months to pay the remainder. Black has tried to sell real estate to generate funds to pay off the penalty but has been unsuccessful, according to his attorney, Whit Powell. "It's going to be settled," Powell said. "He's doing everything he can," he added. The Wake County district attorney's office, which prosecuted Black, assented to the delay, Assistant District Attorney David Sherlin said Thursday night.
Stephens granted another six-month delay last December. At the time, Black signed a promissory note and deed of trust directing any proceeds from a property sale to pay off the fine. In a prepared statement through his attorney, Black pointed to the fact that the fine's proceeds are required to go to the public schools. "I always intended to leave a portion of my estate to help secure the enhancement of North Carolina's public schools, and while this payment comes a bit premature, I gladly give it knowing that North Carolina's children will be the beneficiaries," Black said. Black is scheduled to be released from prison in February 2012. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/26/08).

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