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Edwards brother raises DWI hell
New York Daily News ^ | 7/15/04 | ADAM LISBERG

Posted on 07/15/2004 2:43:15 AM PDT by kattracks

Sen. John Edwards' little brother has an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Colorado and has thumbed his nose at more than $800 in fines for driving infractions.

Wesley Blake Edwards, 39, has been a terror on the road for more than two decades. He has been arrested four times for drunken driving, twice been sentenced to a week in jail for DWI and lost his right to drive in four states.

But even after his license was suspended and revoked, he repeatedly got back behind the wheel - only to be stopped by police again.

He is currently a wanted man in Colorado, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 1994 after he skipped a court date on a DWI case.

He also was wanted in Michigan for a time but authorities later canceled their arrest warrant. He still owes Michigan more than $800 in fines for a series of infractions that included running a red light and driving with a suspended license.

By searching state criminal and motor vehicle records, as well as county court files, the Daily News determined that Edwards was ticketed or arrested ateast 14 times between 1983 and 2003 and was involved in at least two accidents.

He has been repeatedly cited for speeding, driving without a license, driving with a suspended or revoked license, driving without insurance and driving without his seat belt. Once, in 1990, he was arrested for drunken driving just a day after a 60-day suspension had expired.

With his long record of breaking the law, Edwards stands in stark contrast to his 51-year-old brother, who last week was picked to be the Democrats' candidate for vice president.

As one of North Carolina's most successful attorneys, John Edwards won a $950,000 settlement for the family of a woman killed by a drunken driver, according to North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

John Edwards released a statement yesterday implying he did not know about his brother's legal troubles.

A source close to the family said the senator knew vaguely that his brother had some troubles but did not know how serious they were until The News disclosed them.

"I love my brother very much," the senator said in a statement. "I am, of course, troubled by this news. He shouldn't have done what he did, and he knows that and is dealing with it."

The source said Blake Edwards hired a lawyer this year to get his license back. North Carolina records show Edwards asked the state to reissue his license in May but was turned down.

Edwards, a union electrician, lives with his wife and their daughter outside Raleigh, N.C., in a house that his brother bought for them five years ago. He has declined to comment.

With Nicole Bode in Carthage, N.C.

Originally published on July 15, 2004



TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: blakeedwards; blakethedrunk; brotherblake; edwards; edwardsbrother; madd; northcarolina; oldnorthstate
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To: kattracks

Yeah, but is he a Sunshine Boy?


81 posted on 07/16/2004 7:24:46 PM PDT by Guillermo (It's the 99% of Mohammedans that make the other 1% look bad)
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To: TaxRelief

ha...no...but I did get him a room once at a Holiday Express...


82 posted on 07/17/2004 5:25:58 AM PDT by nicko (CW3 Ret.-"Lt., you need to just unass the AO-I know what I'm doing-that goes for you too, Major...")
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To: af_vet_1981

"I don't see using the brothers troubles as a viable strategy, on any level. "

"They are not troubles. They are crimes."

Agreed but short of genocide, the media won't make much of it, nor should they. I don't like Edwards in the least - I know what he is - but that doesn't change the fact that the sins of the brother shouldn't be applied.


83 posted on 07/19/2004 6:53:35 AM PDT by Badeye ("The day you stop learning, is the day you begin dying")
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