`A defacing stain'
Charlotte Observer
Three weeks after a federal judge sentenced former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black to 63 months in federal prison for taking illegal gratuities in a scheme to remain in power, a state judge has ordered him to pay a $1 million fine within five months or face serving nearly two more years after his federal term.
That might mean more than seven years in prison for the 72-year-old inmate, a former Mecklenburg optometrist and once one of the most powerful men in state government.
This combination of federal and state sentences is tough but on the mark. As Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens said Tuesday after a day-long sentencing hearing, Mr. Black's crimes amount to "an absolutely defacing stain" on the state.
Three weeks after a federal judge sentenced former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black to 63 months in federal prison for taking illegal gratuities in a scheme to remain in power, a state judge has ordered him to pay a $1 million fine within five months or face serving nearly two more years after his federal term.
That might mean more than seven years in prison for the 72-year-old inmate, a former Mecklenburg optometrist and once one of the most powerful men in state government.
This combination of federal and state sentences is tough but on the mark. As Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens said Tuesday after a day-long sentencing hearing, Mr. Black's crimes amount to "an absolutely defacing stain" on the state.
posted by Andy W. Rogers | 7:26 PM
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