Computer expert: No way to track aide’s use of Black’s laptop

Friday, Oct. 21, 2005 | 7:29 a.m.

Five former and current Democratic leadership staffers told The Charlotte Observer in a story Thursday that the former aide, Meredith Norris, possessed and used the laptop the General Assembly issued to Black. Norris is at the center of a state inquiry into possible lobbying violations related to the state's new lottery law.

The computer use occurred some time between 2003 and early 2005, they said. The five also said that Norris, while working as a lobbyist, did political work for Black but wasn't on his staff.

The Observer said the sources asked not to be identified because of their continued ties to state government.

Dennis McCarty, director of the Legislative Information Systems Division, said he can determine the last time Norris logged off from a state-issued computer when she was an official Black staffer and using her own user identification and password. But he can't determine when she might have logged on to Black's computer.

"We have no way of telling that," he said. "It would appear to be that it was someone else using it."

State policy prohibits anyone other than a member of the General Assembly, legislative employee or legislative contractor to use the legislature's computers, McCarty said.

"Assuming that she did that, of course, that would be" a violation, he said.

There were no plans to investigate the allegation, said McCarty, who added that he just learned of it Wednesday.

The allegation is the latest in a string of questionable dealings surrounding the lottery, which lawmakers approved in August. Other questions involve the fairness of the final vote in the Senate; past business dealings of a Black-appointed lottery commissioner; and whether Norris should have registered as a lobbyist for Scientific Games, one of two major lottery vendors, while the legislature hammered out lottery legislation.

"One can only imagine that too much of the wrong kind of publicity is not going to help the lottery," said Charles Clotfelter, a professor of economics and law at Duke University, who has studied lotteries. "Given our experience with learning about lotteries, this is not business as usual but it's certainly not unprecedented that there would be hints of conflicts of interests."

North Carolina law says any state employee who learns that state property was misused must report it to superiors, who must then forward that information to the State Bureau of Investigation. The bureau would then decide whether to investigate.

Violations can lead to criminal charges, McCarty said.

No such request to the SBI had been made as of Thursday, said Noelle Talley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice.

Black spokeswoman Julie Robinson on Thursday called the claims "hearsay."

"We don't have any specific records; we can't say if or when she had it," Robinson said.

Norris referred questions to her attorney, Thomas Walker of Charlotte, who said he had no comment.

Gov. Mike Easley pushed for a statewide lottery to generate money for education since he was first elected in 2000. The difficulties surrounding its start can be dealt with by the nine-member lottery commission, an Easley spokeswoman said.

"This is why the governor fought for an independent commission to oversee the games, he wanted to take out the politics," said spokeswoman Sherri Johnson.