FOLLOW THE MONEY

It just dawned on me that there seems to be no other Legislator awaiting the same fate as Thomas Wright. Obtaining property by false pretenses that is, Felonies, prison time, humiliation, punishment and ruination. Where are all the others that, like Wright, like Ballance, like so many others that have whored themselves out to the salesman with the fat sack full of goodies?

Had Wright taken the stand and said, "I told a lobbyist I needed money to keep me afloat for a month or so while I try to put together some local investors on a project I'm working on. And he gave me $5,000." Not that the lobbyist could care less what the money was for, they just want to know how to hand the money over without being caught and better yet, how they can deduct it. Hummmm how about a non-profit foundation?

I am surprised it took me so long to figure this out. Of course Wright went to the local lobby weasel, who hooked him up with his pal at Budweiser or AT&T or some pharmaPIG to "donate" a handful into Wright's pocket so that when needed Mr. Wright can be expected to be a friend. Reminds me of the Godfather.

And of course it is the Godfather, it's organized crime robbing taxpayers of money and power. If the lobbyist have the power then the citizens are second fiddle but they don't know this because that big shiny $25,000 piece of pork that landed in the lap of Boss Hog of Mayberry, nope because of that they will overlook the $2.4 million in semi-secret giveaways, incentives, DOT/party favors, inclusions, exclusions and such handed to the civic center, developer, restaurateur, Hollywood producer, hotel chain, manufacturer, and or labor group that feeds their friends and not their district.

I've seen accounts of prostitution arrests when the John goes free. It's the whore that goes to jail, the pimp and the money man always walk. Thomas must have been on someone shit list.

I'll bet that when all this took place, around first of 2002, is exactly the same time that Wright was about to have his own personal house of cards collapse. He was panicking a year earlier and went to Senator RC Soles of Columbus County for a bailout. Soles was known for his, um, generosity and helped out and saved Wright's house from being auctioned on the courthouse steps. If memory serves me right Thomas was unable to accommodate Soles' terms and Soles briefly ended up with Thomas Wright's mother's house.

In 1998, when a family home in Wilmington was about to be foreclosed upon, Wright asked for help. The home was owned by his mother, who had recently died, and the children couldn't agree over settling the estate, according to Soles, a Democrat and longtime friend.

Soles said he bought the house, believing it was a good business deal but also a favor for a friend. Three years later, Soles wanted to sell, but Wright wasn't ready to buy it back, Soles said.

"I wanted to move it," Soles said.

So Soles started to put it on the market, and Wright got a loan to buy the house. More foreclosure proceedings eventually followed before the house was sold at auction. from the N&O

Soles bought the house on July 8, 1998 for $80,000. On March 5, 2001 he sold it to Thomas Wright's wife, Joyce for $128,000. When the house was sold at auction 3 years later in 2004, the it sold for $79,500. A loss of nearly $50,000. Six months later the house sold again for $81,000. A comparable in the neighborhood would show that the house's value in 2001 would not have been much more than what it sold to Soles for in 1998. When Soles sold it back he made a profit of $48,000, a return on investment of 62% over a 2 and a half year period. What was the reason for the increase in value then? And how was it that the home could have appraised so high. Certainly the bank didn't loan Wright 150% of the value. Is this where Wright learned about taking a second on the added on surcharge that was placed on the Lofton building that was to be the 1898 museum?

It would have been during this period that Wright would have been carrying over $500,000 in debt - three houses. Assuming his mortgage rate might have been 8% and that the property would have been leveraged to the max, that would mean his monthly payments would have been roughly $3,700 a month not including taxes and insurance until the Dock Street house sold in foreclosure in 2004. Just about the same time Wright began screwing his friend Dan Gottovi, Wayne Lofton, the banks, credit union, etc when everything around him began to collapse. By this time he was way in over his head.

Like they say, hell is paved with good intentions and contributions from Hugo Neu....

Comments

[sexleksaker]

Many thanks!

[sexleksaker]

Good intentions.