Free Republic

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Former state Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps was convicted Thursday of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to the state Board of Elections about her campaign finances.Phipps, 47, remained calm as Judge Donald Stephens read the verdict. Phipps' family members, including her father, former Gov. Bob Scott, and sisters Jan Scott and Susan Sutton, stared straight ahead.After a lunch break, Stephens ordered Phipps held in the Wake County Jail until she's sentenced Nov. 12. It was not immediately clear if he would allow Phipps out of custody on bail.Phipps was found not guilty of one of...

<p>GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Bobby McLamb, who ran for Agriculture commissioner against Meg Scott Phipps, then joined her campaign when she won the Democratic nomination, pleaded guilty Monday to fraud conspiracy and extortion charges.</p> <p>Bobby McLamb pleaded guilty Monday to fraud conspiracy and extortion charges.</p>

<p>Linda J. Saunders and Bobby McLamb, aides during Phipps' 2000 campaign, were indicted Monday, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported. Saunders, 43, faces 17 counts, including extortion, conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. McLamb, 42, was charged with two counts: extortion and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.</p>

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. -- A key figure in the political scandal involving Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps has announced she will resign from the Department of Agriculture.</p> <p>Linda Saunders served as Phipps' campaign treasurer during her election in 2000.</p> <p>She's been on paid medical leave since July from her post as a special assistant to the commissioner.</p>

RALEIGH, N.C. -- On Wednesday morning, 23 people will gather in the grand jury room of the federal courthouse on New Bern Avenue. They are ordinary citizens, unremarkable except that their identities are confidential and their work is sealed by law. Behind closed doors, they will begin digging into one of the biggest political scandals to erupt in North Carolina recently: the election campaign of Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps. The grand jury is likely to probe much deeper than the State Board of Elections, which in June fined the Phipps campaign $130,000 for "grossly negligent" violations of campaign law,...

By JAY PRICE, Staff Writer RALEIGH - Testimony in a State Board of Elections hearing Wednesday made the 2000 Democratic primary for State Agriculture Commissioner seem like a contest to see which candidate could rack up the most campaign finance violations, many connected to carnival companies eager for a shot at the N.C. State Fair contract. Losing primary candidate Bobby McLamb,once a carnival talent agent,accepted a $75,000 loan from a middleman who had received the money from a carnival company, board members said. McLamb converted that loan to a bank loan, which he paid off in part with unreported...

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. -- Her father and grandfather served as governors, but Meg Scott Phipps is learning firsthand the hard knocks of politics. Hearings on state Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps' campaign finances start next week. A WRAL investigation has turned up evidence that her campaign may have broken the law.</p>