A two-month investigation by N.C. Policy Watch calls into question the management of two non-profits by a firm headed by Rep. Stephen LaRoque, a Kinston Republican who is in the House leadership. (Report main page)
In a post this morning, Policy Watch’s Sara Ovaska writes:
. . . LaRoque, who returned in January to the N.C. General Assembly after a four-year hiatus, takes aim at government waste while quietly accepting generous six-figure paychecks for running two public charities funded with $8 million in federal dollars since 1997.
He’s earned up to $195,000 a year heading the two small economic development organizations—the East Carolina Development Company and Piedmont Development Company—and used the non-profits to loan some of the public funds to his close associates and political allies. Past board members say they were kept in the dark about his pay.
The investigation also revealed that two of the loans handed out by a LaRoque run non-profit went to companies run by fellow GOP legislators.
