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The 23-page indictment — detailed with accounts of clandestine airport meetings and promises of millions of dollars in illicit donations — intensified the political tumult in a state already roiled by partisan warfare and a fraud-tainted congressional election. And it also showed how, at least in the judgment of prosecutors, a leading political operative and one of his most important benefactors tried to shape government oversight in one of the nation’s largest states.
“These men crossed the line from fundraising to felonies when they devised a plan to use their connections to a political party to attempt to influence the operations and policies of the North Carolina Department of Insurance,” said John A. Strong, the special agent in charge of the FBI office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The party chairman, Robin Hayes, faces the gravest set of charges. Hayes was accused of bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, along with several counts of making false statements. Three other people, including Greg E. Lindberg, the chairman of an investment firm in Durham and a prolific Republican contributor, were also charged.
Kearns Davis, a lawyer for Hayes, said the 73-year-old Republican “steadfastly denies the allegations made against him in this case.” In a separate statement, Anne Tompkins, a lawyer for Lindberg, said Lindberg was “innocent of the charges in the indictment, and we look forward to demonstrating this when we get our day in court.”
A federal magistrate in Charlotte unsealed the case Tuesday after the men were arrested — a public milestone in an investigation that began early last year with a tip from Mike Causey, the insurance commissioner.
According to the indictment, Lindberg, who has also given to Democrats, wanted Causey to oust a powerful regulator “in exchange for millions of dollars in campaign contributions.”
In a statement Tuesday, Causey said his department “continues to cooperate with the federal authorities on this investigation.” He otherwise declined to comment.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.