Easley ex-officials at jury site

Two Cabinet members in the administration of former Gov. Mike Easley appeared Thursday at the Federal Building in Raleigh, where a federal grand jury was meeting in private.

Former Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett and former Commerce Secretary Jim Fain had little to say as they arrived and left separately.

In addition, a senior Commerce official who administers some key incentives programs was issued a subpoena to provide information to the grand jury, which conducts its work in private.

The grand jury has been meeting for more than a year and has issued a number of subpoenas seeking information on the Easley administration. The grand jury in January indicted Ruffin Poole, a senior aide to Easley, on more than 50 corruption-related charges. Poole and federal prosecutors agreed to a plea deal in May in which Poole pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Easley, a Democrat who served from 2001 to 2009, has said he is comfortable with ongoing probes by state and federal authorities.

Tippett, who headed Easley's transportation department for eight years, would not specifically confirm whether he gave testimony. He was accompanied by a lawyer, Myron T. Hill Jr. of Greenville.

Tippett was the administrator of a contract with former Southport Mayor Norman Holden, a friend of Easley's. Holden appeared at the Federal Building last month when the grand jury met. Federal investigators have subpoenaed documents relating to Holden's contract, which paid him about $20,000 annually as a liaison between Southeastern North Carolina and the Department of Transportation.

Tippett was in the building for about three hours and left at 5 p.m. He declined to comment.

Fain, who ran Easley's Commerce department for both terms, also did not specifically say whether he testified. When he arrived, he said: "I've got a little business here today."

Fain spent about two hours inside the Federal Building.

Both Fain and Tippett were major fundraisers for Easley.

Stewart Dickinson, director of the Commerce Finance Center, also received a subpoena, according to Commerce spokeswoman Kathy Neal. She could not provide it because Dickinson had it and was expected at the courthouse. A man who looked like him did not respond to questions from a reporter outside the courthouse.

Dickinson's office administers, among others, the One North Carolina Fund, a pot of money controlled by the governor that is used to lure businesses to the state.