Scandal Returns To The Headlines

By John Hood
Carolina Journal Online

RALEIGH – Former House Speaker Jim Black was a crook.

This was evident while he wielded power for many years in Raleigh, though few would say so publicly. Others, I believe, were truly duped by Black, believing his story about being the target of a right-wing conspiracy to defame him and then being shocked at his guilty plea. On Sunday, Raleigh News & Observer reporter Dan Kane served up a timely reminder of the extent of Black’s corruption. The result, I suspect, was a spate of teeth-grinding in the state capital.