RALEIGH — Former Gov. Mike Easley’s personal assistant and special counsel arrived Thursday in handcuffs for his first court appearance to respond to a 51-count indictment, but was freed on bail while his corruption case is handled in federal court.
Federal agents escorted Ruffin Poole into the federal courthouse in Raleigh one week after a grand jury accused him of accepting paid trips and profiting from investment in coastal developments that he helped expedite through regulatory hurdles.
Poole stood as U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle read the charges against him, including bribery, extortion, racketeering and depriving citizens of honest services. Poole, also an attorney, said “Yes, sir” to most of Boyle’s questions.
Boyle released Poole on a $50,000 unsecured bond pending a trial. A future court date wasn’t immediately set.
Poole’s attorney, Joe Zeszotarski, declined to answer questions as Poole and his wife, Kathryn, walked away arm in arm from the courthouse.
The indictment alleges Poole, who first began working with Easley while he was attorney general, took annual trips to Costa Rica and a bachelor party to New Orleans bankrolled by a Wilmington investor and Easley political supporter while helping expedite projects in which the financier and others had invested.
Poole also made returns of at least 25 percent by investing $100,000 each in two of the same coastal developments, prosecutors claim.
In one case, he asked to invest in the Cannonsgate property two months before he began working on solving problems with permits for the Carteret County development, according to the indictment.
Easley hasn’t been charged with crimes, although federal and state prosecutors are investigating activities surrounding him and former first lady Mary Easley.
The couple purchased a lot at Cannonsgate in late 2005 and received a $137,000 discount, according to documents.
Easley’s attorney has said the former two-term Democratic governor wasn’t aware of conduct described in Poole’s indictment and had faith in Poole.
The maximum punishments for the felonies filed against Poole add to up hundreds of years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.
