RALEIGH - In pleading for leniency, friends and family of Boyce Allen Hudson cast the former state environmental official as a loud and pompous man who liked to exaggerate his abilities and influence -- personality traits that led to his downfall.

On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Hudson to more than three years in prison for his role in a bribery scheme that the U.S. attorney described as "pretty horrific corruption."

Hudson, 67, pleaded guilty in May to two corruption charges in connection with his deal with an ethanol company. Hudson admitted working out a deal with executives of Agri-Ethanol Products in which Hudson would guarantee a smooth environmental permitting process in exchange for $100,000 in cash and a consulting contract worth nearly an additional $100,000.

U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle sentenced Hudson to 40 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Hudson must pay a $35,000 fine and repay $15,000 that an undercover FBI agent gave Hudson. The agent, posing as a potential investor in the ethanol plant, gave Hudson the money because Hudson was impatient for payment of his bribe.

"Public servants who deal with the public on a day-to-day basis need to be above reproach," U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding said.

Hudson's case is the latest in a series of corruption cases in state government that have landed a host of officials, including a former House speaker and a state agriculture commissioner, in federal prison.

Prosecutors have said their investigation involving Hudson is continuing, although no other charges have been filed. The State Bureau of Investigation and the IRS are also on the case.

Officials at the state's environmental agency, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, have said that Hudson had no influence over the state officials responsible for granting permits and that he had no role in permits awarded to Agri-Ethanol for a plant in Aurora. That plant has not been built.

Prosecutors have said in court and in filings that Hudson's last job was as a liaison between the Governor's Office and the legislature. State officials dispute that description of his duties, saying he was a senior field officer in the Office of Conservation and Community Affairs, which promotes long-term conservation of the state's resources.

In court, Hudson spoke only to tell the judge he had nothing to say about his sentencing.

"He violated the public trust and he did a very bad thing," said Doug Parsons, one of his attorneys. "This man has been a dedicated public servant."

Loud and overbearing

In character letters written to the judge, Hudson's wife, son, relatives and closest friends described him as a loud, pompous, overbearing and boastful man. They also described him as an avid outdoorsman who cared for the environment and loved his family.

In 2005, Hudson, who struggled with alcoholism, quit drinking, relatives said in the letters.

His involvement with Agri-Ethanol Products began in mid- 2004 when Agri-Ethanol investors contacted Hudson, according to a filing from prosecutors. The investors were Ricky Wright and Barry Lee Green, assistant U.S. Attorney John Bruce said in the hearing.

Wright is a former Alcohol Beverage Control commissioner and Barry Lee Green was an owner of Thee Dollhouse, a Raleigh strip club now known as The Men's Club, and Crowley's Old Favorites Restaurant in Raleigh.

Hudson had known the men since 1993, when he handled a request from the governor's office to help them with environmental issues related to a development, according to court documents. Wright and Green contacted Hudson in 2000 about a separate ethanol production deal, according to court documents.

At a lunch meeting with Hudson at Green's restaurant, Wright and Green discussed potential permitting problems. That lunch led to another meeting with David Brady, the chief executive of Agri-Ethanol. Prosecutors say Brady and Hudson agreed to the bribery scheme at that meeting.

The company struggled to raise enough money for the plant. Investigators became aware of the scheme when company officials bragged about their arrangement with Hudson. An FBI agent posed as an investor. Eventually, when investigators confronted Hudson, he agreed to wear a wire and to record phone calls, Hudson's lawyer and a prosecutor said.

Parsons told Judge Boyle that Hudson was a good man who simply made one mistake as he neared retirement.

In a court filing, prosecutors wrote that after his plea, Hudson admitted to investigators that two other times he used his official position for personal gain. Prosecutors did not amplify that statement.

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