Perdue donor indicted on obstruction charge
A Wake County grand jury has charged a supporter of former Gov. Beverly Perdue in a scheme to pay a campaign staffer during her 2008 gubernatorial run.
The grand jury recently asked District Attorney Colon Willoughby to investigate whether Charles Michael Fulenwider violated state campaign finance laws. Meeting again Monday, they determined there was enough evidence to issue an indictment.
Fulenwider, a wealthy Perdue donor from Morganton, was charged with obstruction of justice. Authorities say he funneled $32,000 in 2007 and 2008 through Chapel Hill-based Tryon Capital Ventures LLC to pay for Julia Leigh Sitton to work as a fundraiser for Perdue's campaign.
Sitton and Peter Reichard, Perdue's former campaign finance chief and an executive with Tryon Capital Ventures, have already pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the case.
Perdue family friend Trawick Hamilton "Buzzy" Stubbs Jr. of New Bern also faces felony charges of obstruction of justice and certifying a false campaign finance report. The charges stem from more than $28,000 in undisclosed flights he allegedly provided during the 2008 campaign on his private planes.
