News 14 Carolina: Kieran Shanahan Comments on Ruffin Poole’s Plea Deal
RALEIGH – In a last-minute federal court hearing Monday, Ruffin Poole, a top aide to former Gov. Mike Easley, pleaded guilty to one count of federal tax evasion.
Before Monday’s hearing, Poole faced 57 counts of corruption-related charges of bribery, money laundering, extortion and tax evasion. The government will drop the other 56 charges in exchange for his full cooperation and testimony in future court proceedings.
“One has to think that Gov. Easley won’t sleep well tonight. This is a major step forward for federal prosecutors. Ruffin Poole has agreed to be a cooperating witness,” said political watchdog Joe Sinsheimer. “They’re clearly going to be asking questions about Gov. Easley, but they’re going to be asking about other people as well.”
Poole served as Easley’s personal assistant and special counsel during his two terms in office.
“Gov. Easley did very few things either politically or at the governmental level that didn’t involve Ruffin Poole,” Sinsheimer said. “If the governor was involved in criminal behavior, it’s likely that Ruffin Poole knows about it and will be telling federal prosecutors in the weeks to come.”
Poole could face up to five years in prison and up to three years of probation, along with a fine of up to $250,000. Poole was not sentenced Monday.
“For him and his family, they should be very happy given the gravitas of the charges,” former federal prosecutor Kieran Shanahan said. “But, I think if you look at the exposure under those charges, he got to plead to a 5-year exposure as opposed to some of these counts which were 20 years exposure, so the first thing he did was cap the maximum amount he could get in jail.”
The plea agreement says that Poole tried to evade federal income taxes in 2005 by hiding the receipt of $30,000 related to his involvement in the financing of Cannonsgate, a community in Carteret County.
U.S. Attorney George Holding said the deal marks an important day in their wide-ranging and complex investigation.
And Sinsheimer says it will hopefully lead to a beneficial conclusion for the state.
“What we see is this pay-to-play atmosphere has permeated every corner of North Carolina government, and today, we saw it reached all the way up to the governor’s office in the Easley administration. And it has to end,” Sinsheimer said.
Poole’s trial was originally slated to begin on May 3, which is earlier than an August date Poole’s lawyers were asking for.