Former Raleigh assistant city manager pleads guilty to stealing thousands
A former Raleigh assistant city manager has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands from a business incubator that was previously funded by the city.
Lawrence Wray entered an Alford plea, which allowed him to plea guilty to embezzlement while maintaining his innocence, in October. The Wake County District Attorney’s Office offered to drop a second charge of obtaining property by false pretense for the guilty plea, according to court documents.
Wray was placed on “conditional discharge,” which puts him under 12 months of unsupervised probation. He also was ordered to pay $12,100 in restitution to the city, which he did in October.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said there are “no other charges or investigations” stemming from the investigation into the Raleigh Business and Technology Center.
Wray worked for Raleigh for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2010 as an assistant city manager, the N&O previously reported. His salary was $165,000.
The embezzlement charge stems from Wray’s time as the board chairman of the technology center, which offered up office space, support and mentoring to small businesses. It had been housed in a city-owned building on South Wilmington Street on the edge of downtown. The city stopped funding the incubator — which reached a maximum of $162,000 a year — after an audit found evidence of mismanagement and fraud.
According to a grand jury indictment, Wray is accused of stealing $48,000 from the center by negotiating a $25,000 loan from Alicia Lockard to the center but then depositing the money into his personal account. The incubator then had to pay Lockard back, with interest, reaching a total of $48,000.
The center has existed in some form for decades. It was built through the efforts of local governments and colleges in 2000, the N&O previously reported.
The Wilmington Street building now houses the Raleigh Pathways Center, which offers “services, training and other resources meant to provide clear pathways to career success,” according to the city’s website.
This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 11:53 AM.
