Former NC GOP Chairman Robin Hayes could be sentenced in January in bribery case
Former North Carolina Republican Chairman Robin Hayes could be sentenced as early as Jan. 15 for his role in one of the state’s biggest political corruption scandals, according to a Tuesday filing in federal court.
It said Hayes could be sentenced “on or after” Jan. 15.
Neither Hayes nor his attorney could be reached Tuesday.
Hayes, 74, pleaded guilty in federal court in October to lying to federal investigators. He faces up to six months in prison though prosecutors are likely to ask for less time.
Hayes is a Concord native who served in Congress for a decade. A former state lawmaker, he once ran for governor.
He was one of four men indicted in March on multiple charges of conspiracy and bribery. Also indicted were Durham businessman Greg Lindberg and two associates, John Gray and John Palermo. All four pleaded not guilty at the time.
A trial for the three is scheduled to begin Feb. 18 in federal court in Charlotte.
In the indictment, prosecutors described a scheme to funnel $2 million to Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey’s re-election campaign to persuade him to dump a senior deputy commissioner who oversaw regulation of one of Lindberg’s companies.
Some of the money was to go through the state Republican Party. The indictment paints Hayes as a willing participant in the scheme.
“Whatever you all want to do, we’ll do,” Hayes tells Gray, Lindberg and Causey, according to the indictment. Causey was not implicated in the alleged scheme.
A pre-sentencing report was filed Monday under seal.
Hayes’s plea agreement called for him to cooperate with prosecutors and possibly testify against his co-defendants.
“It’s a real astute, savvy move on his part. They had him on tape,” Charlotte attorney Chris Swecker, a former assistant FBI director, told the Observer in October. “He might be able to walk away without jail time on this one.”
