A shouting jury, then a verdict: Billionaire Greg Lindberg guilty of political bribery 

For the jury ruling on Greg Lindberg’s fate, the tale was in the tape.

Lindberg, a Durham billionaire who became one of North Carolina’s largest political donors, was convicted Thursday of using the promise of millions in campaign money to bribe North Carolina’s insurance commissioner Mike Causey.

Following about 12 hours of deliberations spread over three days, the federal jury also found Lindberg associate John Gray guilty on two public corruption charges. Associate John Palermo was found not guilty of both.

Lindberg and Gray could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for one of the charges and up to 10 more years on the other.

Lindberg’s attorney, Brandon McCarthy of Dallas, Texas, told the Observer in an email after the verdict that an appeal is likely.

“While we respect the jury’s decision and the court’s time, we intend to file motions in the next two weeks,” McCarthy said. “If those are unsuccessful we will appeal.”

After the verdict, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Stetzer asked that Lindberg immediately be taken into custody — a suggestion that had one of the businessman’s attorneys sitting gape-mouthed in surprise. Instead, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn ordered that Lindberg remain under electronic monitoring and said Lindberg must notify the court of where he intends to live.

He and Gray will be sentenced at a later date.

The red-haired billionaire left the courtroom by a side aisle, hunched slightly under the strap of his briefcase and carrying a plastic water bottle. He and his legal team quickly walked down some stairs and out the side door of the courthouse onto Mint Street and into a waiting black Denali. It had begun to rain.

When the departing Lindberg was asked if he had any comment, McCarthy broke in: “Not at this time,” the lawyer said.

Lindberg’s conviction, however, spoke plenty. For it sends a sonic boom across North Carolina’s political landscape at the start of a pivotal election year.

The secret recordings

The trial explored one of the largest political bribery scandals in North Carolina history. It hinged on hours of secretly recorded conversations between Causey, Lindberg and his associates. Jurors also heard extensive testimony from Causey, who cooperated in the federal sting and wore a clandestine recording device to capture his conversations with the defendants.

Over the course of the eight-day trial inside Charlotte’s century-old federal courthouse, prosecutors contended there was abundant evidence to show what Lindberg and his associates expected for their money: They wanted Causey to reassign the senior regulator who oversaw one of Lindberg’s companies.

The recordings played for the jury showed that the defendants repeatedly urged Causey to remove Jackie Obusek, the deputy N.C. insurance commissioner responsible for regulating Lindberg’s company. They contended Obusek was unfairly hurting the reputation of Lindberg’s companies and hampering their ability to make investments and acquisitions in other states.

The recordings also revealed that the defendants promised Causey that they would send him millions in campaign contributions, initially through an independent expenditure committee and later through the state Republican Party.

Ultimately, the Republican Party did transfer $250,000 to Causey’s campaign.

Defense lawyers argued that Lindberg and his co-defendants were innocent victims of a politician who used his power to “try to entrap and ensnare them.”

Those lawyers also contended that Causey had a strong motivation for entrapping Lindberg: The insurance company magnate was the largest financial supporter of Causey’s chief political opponent — former insurance commissioner Wayne Goodwin, who Causey narrowly defeated in the 2016 election.

Lindberg donated at least $9,500 to Goodwin during the 2016 race, according to state records.

Lindberg and his associates put on a costly defense. They hired about a dozen lawyers and, according to the judge in the case, even employed a “ghost jury.” Ghost jurors, also known as “shadow jurors,” are typically paid to observe a trial and report their reactions to lawyers in a case.

Lindberg in recent years became one of North Carolina’s largest political donors. He owns Global Bankers Insurance Group, a managing company for several insurance and reinsurance companies.

Lindberg, Gray and Palermo, along with then-GOP Chairman Robin Hayes, were indicted last spring on charges that they attempted to funnel $2 million in bribe money to Causey’s reelection campaign.

Hayes, a former congressman who later became the state GOP chair, pleaded guilty in October to lying to federal investigators and faces up to six months in prison. He is expected to be sentenced soon.

How the scheme unfolded

Causey, a Republican who was elected in 2016, said he grew concerned about Lindberg and his associates in 2017 when the insurance department was conducting a financial examination of one of Lindberg’s companies.

Lindberg donated $10,000 to Causey’s reelection campaign in early 2017 — during the same week insurance department officials were scheduled to meet with leaders of one of Lindberg’s companies. Causey said he directed his campaign finance director to return the money.

Lindberg and his associates met with Causey in November of that year and asked him to put in a good word for them with the commissioner of insurance in Michigan, where they wanted to acquire another company.

Soon afterward, Gray told Causey that Lindberg had donated $500,000 to the state Republican Party — and that $110,000 of that money would be coming to Causey’s reelection campaign, the commissioner testified early in the trial.

“It seemed like they wanted to reward me for doing that (putting in a good word with the Michigan insurance commissioner),” Causey told the jury.

Causey later brought his concerns to federal authorities and began cooperating with their investigation into Lindberg and his associates.

“Since I took office in January 2017, I have worked with our professional staff to ensure that all companies are treated fairly and consistently, and that the policyholders of our State are protected,” Causey said in a statement released after the trial ended.

“The verdict handed down today by the jury emphasizes this point and shows that the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is not for sale.”

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Andrew Murray on Thursday weighed in after the verdict saying, “This was not a lapse in judgment. It was a deliberate bribery attempt and a clear violation of federal law.”

However, George Vandeman, chairman of Lindberg company Global Growth, depicted Causey as a corrupt official who lied to the FBI and demanded illegal contributions from Lindberg.

“Every American should be concerned about a politician like Mike Causey using the full force of the federal government to remove the largest supporter of their opponent,” Vandeman said in a statement issued after the verdict.

“Mr. Lindberg looks forward to a successful appeal and eventual exoneration.”

Shouts from the jury room

After the verdict was read to the courtroom, each juror was polled to guarantee that the decision had been unanimous.

Cogburn then thanked them for their service.

“Citizens ultimately make the decision in this country and that’s the way it ought to be,” the Asheville judge said.

But the process has not been pretty.

At several points during deliberations Wednesday, loud arguments could be heard coming from behind the closed doors of the jury room. The angry exchanges resumed Thursday morning, leading Cogburn’s clerk, Angela Smith, to send a bailiff into the room.

Fifteen minutes later, Cogburn returned to the bench. A verdict had been reached. When the jury returned, several of its members were smiling.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the terms of Lindberg’s pre-sentencing release. Cogburn instructed Lindberg to notify the court of where he intends to live while awaiting sentencing. He will also remain on electronic monitoring.

This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 10:46 AM.