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Wright found guilty of obstruction of justice
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Published: August 27, 2008
Updated: 08/27/2008 12:53 pm
RALEIGH
Former Rep. Thomas Wright was found guilty of felony obstruction of justice on today and sentenced to prison after his second conviction this year for political corruption.
The Wilmington Democrat was accused of preventing election officials from carrying out their duties as they investigated his failure to report $150,000 in campaign contributions over a seven-year period. Wright, already serving six to eight years in prison for fraud, was sentenced to between six and eight months in prison. He will serve the terms concurrently.
Wake County jurors deliberated for about 2 1/2 hours over two days before reaching their verdict. The trial lasted three days.
Wright attorney Douglas Harris acknowledged his client made mistakes on campaign disclosure forms but argued they didn't warrant a felony charge. Wright didn't present evidence during the hearing because, Harris said, prosecutors didn't prove Wright's actions met the standard for obstruction of justice.
Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby argued that Wright intentionally impeded state elections officials in their efforts to enforce campaign finance rules, and harmed his constituents by failing to disclose how he spent campaign money and how much money in donations he received.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing Wright failed to report all of his campaign contributions between 2000 and 2007 and made it difficult for election investigators to learn about the money. Wright also transferred almost $77,000 from campaign bank accounts to his personal accounts or converted them into cash, according to evidence presented Tuesday.
Wright, 53, is already serving a roughly six- to eight-year prison term after being convicted of fraud in April. Less than three weeks earlier, he became the first sitting North Carolina legislator to be expelled from office by his own colleagues in 128 years.
The previous conviction stemmed from charges he mishandled charity contributions and fraudulently obtained a $150,000 loan in part by using a bogus letter from a state official.
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