RALEIGH -- A trooper who lost his job last year after having a drunken sexual encounter with another trooper's wife is back on the state payroll, this time as an investigator for the lottery.
Former Sgt. Timothy J. White was dismissed from the N.C. Highway Patrol on June 2, 2009, for personal conduct unbecoming of an officer after an incident in the back seat of a car on the way home from a Christmas party. The woman's husband was in the front seat at the time.
White then continued to contact the other trooper's wife, although his superiors told him to stay away from her, according to documents on file at the state Office of Administrative Hearings.
He contested his firing, which was later reclassified by the state as a voluntary resignation after his appeal was settled.
White was hired Nov. 30 for his new job as a security investigator for the lottery, which pays him $46,000 a year. He is one of six investigators who look into complaints about retailers operating the games unfairly and bilking customers.
Tom Shaheen, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery, said his agency had a "huge stack" of applications before narrowing it down to a list of finalists. He said White stood out because of his years of law enforcement experience.
"Mr. White made us aware during the interview there was an issue with his previous employer," Shaheen said. "Those were allegations that occurred after work hours."
The incident that led to White's dismissal from the Highway Patrol occurred after a party Dec. 17, 2008, at a bar in Mocksville, southwest of Winston-Salem. A patrol veteran who had been promoted to the rank of sergeant earlier that month, White said he consumed about nine beers at the party.
In a car on the way home, White had a sexual encounter with the wife of Master Trooper Eric B. Perdue, according to a state report. Perdue was White's subordinate and was listed in court records as a witness to the incident. A third trooper was driving.
In an interview last year, White disputed the patrol's account that he engaged in a sex act, saying that he only remembers kissing the woman and that she was pressing against him in the back of the car. He said Perdue's wife made advances toward him. But, he added, nothing he did was worthy of his being fired.
"She was very impaired that night," White said last year. "So was her husband. So was I."
Unfairness alleged
White appealed his dismissal, arguing in court filings that he had been treated unfairly because other troopers had engaged in similar conduct and were not fired.
His hiring at the lottery was championed by its director of security, Jerry Carter, who previously worked on the security detail of former Gov. Mike Easley. Shaheen said he signed off on hiring White following Carter's recommendation.
In a written statement released by the lottery Thursday, White said he was not allowed to discuss the circumstances surrounding his departure form the patrol under the terms of him settlement agreement.
7-year career over
"The circumstances about my initial termination from the Highway Patrol were widely covered in media stories as I contested the disciplinary action by the Highway Patrol," White said, according to the statement. "I regret that my actions outside of my law enforcement work led to my resignation and the end of a seven-year career with the Highway Patrol. I am glad that I can continue to use my law enforcement experience on behalf of the N.C. Education Lottery."
