The general manager of a carnival company Thursday became the eighth person charged in the federal investigation that landed former Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps in prison.

Prosecutors say Morris Vivona Jr., whose family owns Amusements of America in New Jersey, lied to investigators probing Phipps' 2000 campaign about his family's illegal payments, even as he claimed to be cooperating with them.

Vivona faces one felony count of obstruction of justice. The charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison but does not require time behind bars.

Phipps picked Vivona's company to run the rides and games at the 2002 N.C. State Fair. Since then, she has resigned and admitted taking tens of thousands in illegal campaign contributions from Amusements of America officials and other carnival operators seeking work at the fair. She is serving a four-year sentence in federal prison.

Vivona's charge results from his attempts to hide his family's illegal payments from investigators, according to documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Prosecutors said in a court document that Vivona plotted with Norman Chambliss, the company's North Carolina agent, to conceal an illegal $6,500 payment that Amusements of America made to the Phipps campaign. He and Chambliss denied that the company promised Chambliss $50,000 and a cruise if he could persuade Phipps to hire Amusements of America.

The pair met after each of their interviews with investigators to compare their lawyers' notes and make sure their stories matched, prosecutors say.

"Vivona agreed to provide false statements to the government in order to corroborate Chambliss' false statements," the document says.

Vivona's lawyer, Joseph B. Cheshire V of Raleigh, said Vivona will plead guilty to the charge Monday in federal court in Greenville. He said he has been expecting the charge.

Cheshire said that Vivona has been cooperating with authorities since the investigation began but that he made a mistake by agreeing to lie for a friend. Cheshire said he didn't know at the time that Vivona was lying to investigators.

"Our client chose to honor a friend instead of our advice," Cheshire said. "We're very disappointed."

The charge comes on the heels of a lawsuit settlement in March that allowed Amusements of America to bid to run the fair midway again in 2005. After Phipps resigned, state agriculture officials did not allow the company to bid for the 2003 and 2004 contracts, and Amusements of America sued the department.

Agriculture Commissioner Britt Cobb said Thursday that a felony conviction for one of its managers could disqualify the company from working at the fair next year.

Vivona is the only Amusements of America official charged so far. U.S. Attorney Frank Whitney wouldn't say Thursday whether anyone else will be charged.