A top aide to former Gov. Mike Easley who helped gather campaign donations from politically connected businessmen declined Thursday to testify before the State Board of Elections, citing his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself.
Shortly after, the aide's employer, the McGuireWoods law firm, said he was no longer with the firm.
The aide, Ruffin Poole, 37, of Raleigh, served as Easley's special counsel and executive counsel during the governor's two terms in office. Both later joined the McGuireWoods firm. Poole had become known as the guy to turn to for patronage jobs and help with many regulatory matters.
The board had sought Poole's testimony since October, when it conducted hearings into possible election law violations in the campaign of Easley and the state Democratic Party. But Poole resisted the board's subpoena, and a Superior Court judge sided with him for reasons that were kept secret. The N.C. Court of Appeals overturned the decision, sending Poole back before the board Thursday.
Dressed in a dark pin-striped suit and a red-striped tie, Poole answered only one question - stating his name - before his lawyer, Joseph Zeszotarski Jr., put an end to the questions.
Then the board chairman, Larry Leake, said Poole had a choice: Testify or spend the next 30 days in jail for contempt.
"I will tell the board right now, Mr. Poole is relying on the Fifth Amendment right not to answer your questions," Zeszotarski said.
With that, Leake excused Poole from testifying. He left without a word.
Leaving the law firm
McGuireWoods said Poole had left the firm Thursday. A spokesman, Will Allcott, would not say whether Poole had been fired or had resigned. The firm had said that Poole should cooperate with the board's investigation.
"There is sadness over this," Allcott said. "He made friends in the short time he was with us."
Allcott said that Easley remains with the firm.
Poole had joined the firm earlier this year, along with Easley and Franklin Freeman, another former Easley aide. But it has been a tumultuous year. Easley has been the subject of federal and state investigations, and Poole has emerged as a central figure.
He recently resigned from the Golden LEAF Foundation board, shortly before Gov. Beverly Perdue issued an executive order that would remove members of state boards and commissions if they are indicted or if they refuse to cooperate in a criminal investigation.
Unanswered questions
Leake said he was disappointed, but not surprised, that Poole would not testify. Evidence from the hearings showed that Poole was involved in fundraising that raised questions about whether the Easley campaign was using the state Democratic Party to solicit donations that exceeded the $4,000 limit per election cycle.
Developer Lanny Wilson of Wilmington had testified that he wrote a $10,000 check for the state Democratic Party in 2006 but mailed it to the Easley campaign and addressed it to Poole.
Documents and testimony showed that Poole was involved in the efforts of another developer, Gary Allen, to obtain a permit for a coastal neighborhood in Brunswick County. Wilson testified that a meeting was set up between Allen and Easley with the intent of soliciting a large donation from Allen, who later wrote a $50,000 check to the state Democratic Party.
Allen got his permit, but he said it had nothing to do with the campaign contribution.
The board fined the Easley campaign $100,000 and requested a state criminal investigation. That investigation continues.
Staff writer Joseph Neff contributed to this report.
