Mike Easley - Controversies, Federal Investigation

Controversies, Federal Investigation

Easley has been beset by controversies since 2006, which led to a decline in his popularity and public outrage. Easley has defended the use of taxpayer dollars for his and his wife Mary's trips overseas. Mary Easley took two trips out of the country, one to France and one to Russia and Estonia, for cultural exchanges at a cost of $109,000 for nine people, including $27,000 for rental of a Mercedes and almost $9,000 in hotel and Monet tour costs, months after the North Carolina Museum of Art's Monet exhibit had ended. A separate trip to Italy in April 2008 taken jointly by the Easleys resulted in more than $100,000 in charges to taxpayers, including $51,640 for a Mercedes and a chauffeur. Easley noted that the taxis in Rome were Mercedes vehicles, not Ford Crown Victorias, as in America. Republican critics called the trips overly lavish in a time of economic downturn for the state.

Although the director of the North Carolina Museum of Art defended Mary Easley's trips as having helped the museum receive loaned art items from The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Raleigh News and Observer noted that no results of the trips were yet evident as of July 2008. State auditor Les Merritt released a report October 31, 2008 that found that 40% of the overseas charges were "unreasonable or unallowable." Mary Easley hired state Senator Tony Rand as her lawyer in dealing with the state auditor. Mrs. Easley's efforts also resulted in the North Carolina Museum of Art's obtaining a collection of Auguste Rodin's work valued at $35,000,000, and in the construction of a new Greek Art wing for the museum.

Merritt found that the $27,000, on-call chauffeured SUV often followed Mary Easley's tour bus through the countryside rather than serving as her transportation. In Russia, hundreds of dollars were charged to the state for both caviar and alcohol purchases. $45,000 in private funds from the NC Art Museum's foundation were used to reimburse the state following the auditor's finding.

News reports of Mary Easley receiving an 88% annual pay raise for her job as executive-in-residence at North Carolina State University in the University of North Carolina system also did not help Easley's popularity with voters. Merritt's audit, however, has been criticized as being "partisan and lack credibility."

The pay increase violated a university system policy in which large pay increases must have prior approval, and NC State University ruled that one-third of Mary Easley's salary must be paid with private funds.

Easley also garnered controversy during the 2006 Duke lacrosse case. He appointed Mike Nifong on the condition that he not run for election for District Attorney. Nifong was later elected before being disgraced and disbarred. Easley, however, did not make any effort to remove Nifong until openly criticizing him, and only well after ethics complaints had been launched.

More controversy surfaced months after Easley left office in January 2009. According to Raleigh's News & Observer, the FBI ordered the North Carolina Highway Patrol to produce all records involving private air travel for Easley and his family. The newspaper reported that Easley may have violated federal campaign laws when he "turned a small group of influential North Carolina businessmen into his own private air service, an arrangement Easley kept secret." The FBI issued a subpoena to the patrol Friday May 15, 2009, as part of a grand jury investigation. The subpoena said the grand jury would meet May 20 and 21 in Raleigh. The subpoena seeks information about the private travels of Easley, his wife Mary Easley, and their son Michael Easley Jr. on privately owned, non-commercial aircraft. It also requests documents involving payments made for such travel. The subpoena also seeks information on communications with the Easleys about those private flights, public inquiries of the flights and the patrol's policies on the retention of records related to the Easleys' flights.

The News & Observer reported that Easley later appointed many of his flight benefactors to influential boards and positions; North Carolina State University board chairman McQueen Campbell often flew Easley in his planes and bragged of his influence. The governor appointed Campbell twice to the N.C. State board.

UNC System President Erskine Bowles said Campbell told him he had mentioned to N.C. State's chancellor that Mary Easley wanted to change jobs. Former first lady Mary Easley was hired by N.C. State to run a campus speaker series and a public safety center. Mary Easley received a three-year contract at $80,000 a year in 2005 and later got a five-year, $850,000 contract. The newspaper said Campbell had said he played no part in Mary Easley getting her job. Campbell and the Easleys have refused all interview requests, the newspaper said. N.C. State Provost Larry Nielsen resigned May 14, citing scrutiny of his role in hiring Mary Easley. Bowles said Campbell called him and "went through a whole mea culpa," the newspaper reported. "He said, 'I did tell (N.C. Chancellor) Jim Oblinger in passing that Mary Easley was going to change jobs and he may not even remember that.' And I said, 'What?' That was about the end of the conversation. I was surprised." Bowles said he suggested that Campbell quit his position to protect N.C. State's reputation. Bowles said Mary Easley has a contract, but her duties would "all be reviewed in the appropriate manner especially as we look at where we're going to place our budget going forward." He later suggested that Mary Easley resign her position. In June 2009, NC State fired Mary Easley from her position.

In June 2009, the office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper confirmed that Easley was under investigation by both the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Some urged Cooper to appoint a special prosecutor to the case.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections opened hearings into Easley's conduct on Oct. 26, 2009.