Norris banned from lobbying for 2 years

House Speaker Jim Black's former unpaid political director, Meredith Norris, pleaded no contest in a Wake County courtroom today to a misdemeanor charge that she violated the state's lobbying law by failing to disclose her work for a major lottery vendor.

A no contest plea means Norris has not admitted guilt but will not fight the charge against her and will accept the court's punishment.

Norris was sentenced to one year of probation, a $500 fine and 75 hours community service. She was also banned from lobbying for two years.

Norris, 32, of Raleigh, became a lobbyist nearly four years ago after leaving Black's legislative office, where she had worked as a top aide. But she continued to assist Black's campaign by raising money, coordinating events and publishing a newsletter of his endeavors.

Last year, lottery company Scientific Games hired Norris shortly before lawmakers took up legislation to create a state lottery. Her work for Scientific Games was not disclosed until after the lottery had become law.

In September, Norris and a company vice president, Alan Middleton, told The News & Observer that Norris had been hired only to monitor legislation and not try to influence lawmakers. But correspondence released by Black's office in October showed that she had set up a dinner between Middleton and Black and had sought to invite lawmakers to a yacht cruise with Middleton in Seattle, where a legislative conference was being held.

That prompted a state investigation that forced the company to reveal that it had reimbursed Norris roughly $3,800 for wining and dining lawmakers. The company also disclosed that one of Black's nominees to the new state lottery commission, public relations executive Kevin Geddings, had also been working for Scientific Games to help get the lottery passed.

Geddings also faces a misdemeanor lobbying charge. Middleton, who no longer works for Scientific Games, is charged with misdemeanor lobbying violations for failing to register at the time he began lobbying lawmakers, and for failing to register Norris as a lobbyist.

Federal authorities have charged Geddings with mail and wire fraud for failing to disclose his work for Scientific Games before joining the lottery commission. Both have said they are innocent of the charges against them.