Wright: Discrepancies 'just happen'

Raleigh | Rep. Thomas Wright has an explanation for the hundreds of thousands of dollars of discrepancies the N.C.

State Board of Elections found in his campaign reports - it just happens. "None of this was deliberate; I'm not a criminal," the Democrat from Wilmington said during a telephone interview Tuesday. "It was not deliberate - it just happens.

" During the interview he said he feared treading into specifics and declined to show documents he had because, he said, he is readying a defense and consulting with an attorney. He would not name the lawyer. "But I look forward to refuting" all the charges, he said.

Wright's explanation in the matters could be crucial. House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said earlier this week that he had waited long enough for an explanation from Wright and asked an ethics committee to investigate him. The committee has the power to compel testimony and suggest measures such as censure or expulsion from the House.

The committee also could dismiss the case or refer it back to the House. Wright declined interviews in the weeks leading up to the hearing. At the hearing, Wright did not speak or question witnesses.

"What would you do?" he said. "I had no idea what they were going to bring out.

" Last week, election board investigators, using Wright's own bank records, found that from 2000 to 2006 Wright deposited $220,000 in campaign contributions he did not report. Investigators also said that he had hundreds of thousands of dollars of unreported expenses, including $243,000 of campaign money that appeared to be spent on personal items. The hearing gave a glimpse into the investigator's evidence, most of which is withheld from the public, and Wright.

The board's investigation was sparked by a complaint from Raleigh businessman and former Democratic Party operative Joe Sinsheimer. After examining Wright's 2006 campaign filings, Sinsheimer charged that Wright purposely reported contributions late in order to avoid controversy. "This is not a case of sloppy bookkeeping," Sinsheimer said after he filed the complaint.

A Star-News analysis of campaign disclosure reports revealed Wright has not reported receiving 273 donations totaling $119,607 that political committees said they sent to him. "Sometimes they would just sit in an envelope on the desk," Wright said. Others were held so long, Wright said, that donors asked their banks to stop payment on the checks.

As for filling out campaign reports, Wright said that during the heat of running for re-election, it was difficult to fill out complete forms. "You do as much as you can, then try to fix the mistakes you made," Wright said Tuesday. "You do the best you can.

" The state elections board did not see it that way. It sent Wright's case to the Wake County district attorney and accused Wright of deliberately filing false campaign reports, which is a felony. "There are no multiple accounts - never have been," he said.

Raleigh | Rep. Danny McComas and Rep. Carolyn Justice said Wednesday the third member of the New Hanover County delegation, Rep.

Thomas Wright, should resign.

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Columbia, S.C.

| Judge Don Beatty was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, becoming the second black to sit on the high court since Reconstruction.

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