Employee who left Wake deeds office before missing money scandal drops lawsuit

Laura Riddick, the former Wake County register of deeds, continues to face charges of embezzling more than $900,000 from her office. But her legal troubles no longer include a pending lawsuit from a former employee.

Her former deputy director, Darryl Black, has voluntarily dropped his lawsuit against Riddick after alleging last year that she wrongfully terminated him as he looked into cash management in the office.

Riddick faces six counts of embezzlement. She’s one of four former deeds employees charged with taking a combined $1.13 million of about $2.3 million that went missing from the office between 2013 and 2017.

In the lawsuit, Black said Riddick “did not want him to uncover embezzlement.”

Court filings don’t say why Black dropped the suit May 23. When reached by an N&O reporter Friday, Black declined to comment on it. Philip Isley, Riddick’s attorney, also declined to comment.

Black’s lawsuit implicated Riddick as a private citizen and public official in the Wake County government.

Wake County officials, through spokeswoman Alice Avery, clarified in an email that Wake “did not settle with Mr. Black and has paid him no money.”