DMV checking propriety of hiring

Internal affairs is investigating influence of a political fundraiser

The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles is investigating whether a longtime patronage boss from Greene County had undue influence in hiring decisions at the agency.

DMV Commissioner Bill Gore said that he asked his internal affairs investigators Tuesday to look into hires that may be connected to Eddie Carroll Thomas, a former state Transportation Department maintenance supervisor in Greene County. Thomas, 73, was a fundraiser for many prominent Democrats, including the two men who have held the governor's office for the past 16 years -- Jim Hunt and Mike Easley.

Thomas has two nephews and a niece who work in the DMV's Driver and Vehicle Services Unit, which handles licenses and registrations. One nephew has worked there since 1987 and is now a unit supervisor. He could not be reached for comment. The other two relatives were hired since 2006. Both said in interviews that they had little contact with Thomas and did not ask for his help in getting hired.

Thomas abruptly resigned from his job in November 2003, just as the DOT released phone records showing dozens of phone calls from a fax and phone line in Thomas' office to top officials across state government. Among the officials frequently called was a DMV administrator, Wayne Hurder, who is now deputy commissioner. The records show that from February 2002 to August 2003, Hurder received more than 90 calls from the line.

Gore would not comment on a connection between Hurder and Thomas, but two weeks ago he transferred Hurder from Driver and Vehicle Services to a policy development position and named an acting director to handle Hurder's old duties.

"Deputy Commissioner Hurder will not ordinarily be involved in personnel matters, nor direct the day-to-day operations of Driver and Vehicle Services," Gore said in an Aug. 19 memo.

Neither Hurder nor Thomas could be reached for comment. Thomas' attorney, Myron T. Hill of Greenville, said he was unaware that an internal probe was under way.

Thomas' involvement in a new prison for Greene County and a state contract for wetlands protection and his extensive efforts to help people get jobs and promotions in at least three state agencies led to state and federal investigations in 2003. So far, the probes have not led to any criminal charges. Thomas' attorney said he has not heard from investigators in a long time.

"I'm sort of feeling like it's over, but I haven't heard anything," Hill said.

Gore said none of the hires he is reviewing involve people not qualified to do the job.

"It's a question of whether all the qualified people who applied had the same opportunity to get a job," said Gore, a former state judge who took over the DMV a year ago.

Political patronage and favoritism have been longstanding issues for the DMV. Late last year, Gore asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the hiring of a friend of the then-head of the DMV's License and Theft Bureau. The friend was hired for an emissions specialist job ahead of a longtime state Highway Patrol mechanic who taught a class on emissions inspections at Wake Tech.

The investigation did not lead to criminal charges, but found that the normal hiring process had been circumvented. Shortly after, the bureau's deputy director and a district supervisor left the DMV.

Gore's predecessor, George Tatum, resigned amid allegations that he had hired friends and political allies over veteran DMV employees.

Gore said Thomas' family connections within the DMV also include a brother, Wiley, who worked there for roughly 20 years. Wiley Thomas was the DMV's chief driver's license hearing officer for several months in 1995 before retiring.