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SBI cancels interviews with commissioners
Edwards: Idea that he has more to do with probe ‘absolutely false’
By NIKIE MAYO, Staff Writer
The State Bureau of Investigation contacted two Beaufort County commissioners this week for interviews that were set for Thursday, but when their attorney arranged to have the full Beaufort County Board of Commissioners questioned and recorded, it was a no-go.
County Manager Paul Spruill said leaders are “ready and waiting” to cooperate with the SBI’s probe into a meeting at King Chicken, the impetus of which goes back to at least Aug. 14.
Spruill and Neil Yarborough, the county’s special counsel for the school-funding lawsuit between the commissioners and the Beaufort County Board of Education, held a press conference Thursday in the commissioners’ meeting room on Third Street. Yarborough, just back from a trip to Beaufort County, participated by telephone from his Fayetteville office.
They said Tuesday marked the first contact between the SBI and commissioners.
“I dropped what I was doing in Fayetteville and hot-footed it to Washington as soon as I could,” Yarborough said.
The SBI has interviewed school-board members and Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Jeff Moss within the past month, school officials have said in previous interviews with the Daily News.
The SBI probe stems from an anonymous letter titled “Citizen Complaint — Beaufort County Public Corruption and Governmental Official Misconduct.” Attached to it are documents that Judge William Griffin would not allow entered as evidence during the July trial on the funding dispute and newspaper articles, according to Yarborough and Spruill. They have not seen the letter, they said, but their information is based on Yarborough’s conversations this week with Senior Deputy Attorney General Jim Coman.
“No one seems to want to take ownership for how this investigation initiated,” Spruill said Thursday.
District Attorney Seth Edwards had more sway in the investigation than he is letting on, Yarborough said. Yarborough said that in forwarding the anonymous letter to the SBI and the state attorney general’s office that Edwards, in his capacity as district attorney, knew there likely would be an investigation. Edwards said Thursday the “insinuation” that he influenced the investigation is “absolutely false.”
“I have not called up there to check on the status of the case. I will absolutely deny that,” he said.
Edwards said when he received materials related to the investigation he “turned around and sent it right back.”
Because his wife, Kim, is a lawyer for the school board, Edwards said he turned the case “completely over” to the SBI and the attorney general. In an Oct. 5 interview with the Daily News, Edwards said he did that “two or three weeks ago.” The case is with the state’s special-prosecution unit.
“They don’t have original jurisdiction in a case like this ... but I’m leaving it completely up to them to decide if any action should be taken,” Edwards said then.
In an Oct. 6 interview with the Daily News, Melissa Lovell, a spokesperson for N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper, said: “We are investigating as of Sept. 20 by request of the district attorney.”
Yarborough said Edwards had contact with the state regarding the anonymous letter on Aug. 14, that there was follow-up contact on Aug. 18 and Aug. 28 and that “on or about” Sept. 5, Coman told Edwards that an investigation would be initiated.
The SBI contacted Spruill and commissioners Hood Richardson and Ed Booth to set up interviews for Thursday. Yarborough sent a letter late Wednesday night to SBI agent Cheryl McNeil with a schedule by which all seven commissioners and Spruill could be interviewed. “I worked on it until 10:30 last night,” he said during Thursday’s press conference.
In that correspondence, Yarborough requested a copy of the anonymous letter or a reading of it, and that comments, questions and answers during the interviews be taped.
“You may find this procedure for conducting interviews a bit unusual as compared to your normal course of questioning, but this is an unusual case brought about by unusual circumstances,” Yarborough wrote. “The county board of commissioners must take particular care to protect its legal interest in light of the pending litigation filed by the district attorney’s wife.”
The July verdict that gave Beaufort County Schools another $765,783 in county funds — 10.2 million total for the school year — is being appeal.
Yarborough said the SBI canceled its scheduled interviews with Richardson and Booth. They may not be rescheduled until at least the end of next month, the attorney said.
School officials have been mostly mum about their interviews with the SBI.
“I’m not comfortable discussing anything until I hear from the SBI what I can and can’t say. We’ve been trying to follow their request that we not speak about the case to anyone,” Moss said in an interview with the Daily News last week.
Commissioners Chairman Jay McRoy, the only commissioner present for the press conference, said he is not worried about the ongoing investigation into the May meeting between himself, Commissioner Robert Cayton, school board Chairman Bryant Hardison and school board member Mac Hodges.
“I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I don’t know of any law that says four people can’t have breakfast together.”
By NIKIE MAYO, Staff Writer
The State Bureau of Investigation contacted two Beaufort County commissioners this week for interviews that were set for Thursday, but when their attorney arranged to have the full Beaufort County Board of Commissioners questioned and recorded, it was a no-go.
County Manager Paul Spruill said leaders are “ready and waiting” to cooperate with the SBI’s probe into a meeting at King Chicken, the impetus of which goes back to at least Aug. 14.
Spruill and Neil Yarborough, the county’s special counsel for the school-funding lawsuit between the commissioners and the Beaufort County Board of Education, held a press conference Thursday in the commissioners’ meeting room on Third Street. Yarborough, just back from a trip to Beaufort County, participated by telephone from his Fayetteville office.
They said Tuesday marked the first contact between the SBI and commissioners.
“I dropped what I was doing in Fayetteville and hot-footed it to Washington as soon as I could,” Yarborough said.
The SBI has interviewed school-board members and Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Jeff Moss within the past month, school officials have said in previous interviews with the Daily News.
The SBI probe stems from an anonymous letter titled “Citizen Complaint — Beaufort County Public Corruption and Governmental Official Misconduct.” Attached to it are documents that Judge William Griffin would not allow entered as evidence during the July trial on the funding dispute and newspaper articles, according to Yarborough and Spruill. They have not seen the letter, they said, but their information is based on Yarborough’s conversations this week with Senior Deputy Attorney General Jim Coman.
“No one seems to want to take ownership for how this investigation initiated,” Spruill said Thursday.
District Attorney Seth Edwards had more sway in the investigation than he is letting on, Yarborough said. Yarborough said that in forwarding the anonymous letter to the SBI and the state attorney general’s office that Edwards, in his capacity as district attorney, knew there likely would be an investigation. Edwards said Thursday the “insinuation” that he influenced the investigation is “absolutely false.”
“I have not called up there to check on the status of the case. I will absolutely deny that,” he said.
Edwards said when he received materials related to the investigation he “turned around and sent it right back.”
Because his wife, Kim, is a lawyer for the school board, Edwards said he turned the case “completely over” to the SBI and the attorney general. In an Oct. 5 interview with the Daily News, Edwards said he did that “two or three weeks ago.” The case is with the state’s special-prosecution unit.
“They don’t have original jurisdiction in a case like this ... but I’m leaving it completely up to them to decide if any action should be taken,” Edwards said then.
In an Oct. 6 interview with the Daily News, Melissa Lovell, a spokesperson for N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper, said: “We are investigating as of Sept. 20 by request of the district attorney.”
Yarborough said Edwards had contact with the state regarding the anonymous letter on Aug. 14, that there was follow-up contact on Aug. 18 and Aug. 28 and that “on or about” Sept. 5, Coman told Edwards that an investigation would be initiated.
The SBI contacted Spruill and commissioners Hood Richardson and Ed Booth to set up interviews for Thursday. Yarborough sent a letter late Wednesday night to SBI agent Cheryl McNeil with a schedule by which all seven commissioners and Spruill could be interviewed. “I worked on it until 10:30 last night,” he said during Thursday’s press conference.
In that correspondence, Yarborough requested a copy of the anonymous letter or a reading of it, and that comments, questions and answers during the interviews be taped.
“You may find this procedure for conducting interviews a bit unusual as compared to your normal course of questioning, but this is an unusual case brought about by unusual circumstances,” Yarborough wrote. “The county board of commissioners must take particular care to protect its legal interest in light of the pending litigation filed by the district attorney’s wife.”
The July verdict that gave Beaufort County Schools another $765,783 in county funds — 10.2 million total for the school year — is being appeal.
Yarborough said the SBI canceled its scheduled interviews with Richardson and Booth. They may not be rescheduled until at least the end of next month, the attorney said.
School officials have been mostly mum about their interviews with the SBI.
“I’m not comfortable discussing anything until I hear from the SBI what I can and can’t say. We’ve been trying to follow their request that we not speak about the case to anyone,” Moss said in an interview with the Daily News last week.
Commissioners Chairman Jay McRoy, the only commissioner present for the press conference, said he is not worried about the ongoing investigation into the May meeting between himself, Commissioner Robert Cayton, school board Chairman Bryant Hardison and school board member Mac Hodges.
“I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I don’t know of any law that says four people can’t have breakfast together.”
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tunne rat wrote on Jul 6, 2009 8:55 PM:
that is the biggest propganda word that every came out of butterfields and rino jones mouth in the past hundred years .
just 2 water boys for the obama socalist party , and a hand full of red necks that dont have a clue about whast they are talking about . "