Ex-Easley aide Poole gets one year in prison

By TOM BREEN
Associated Press

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A former aide to ex-North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley must spend a year behind bars for failing to report a $30,000 profit on coastal property that was uncovered during a federal probe involving the two-term governor.

US District Court Judge Terence Boyle sentenced 39-year-old Ruffin Poole on Tuesday to 12 months in prison, along with two years of supervised release and a $30,000 fine. He’s scheduled to begin serving his sentence July 15, likely at a federal prison in South Carolina.

Poole had pleaded guilty in April 2010 to one income tax evasion count just before his trial on 57 corruption-related counts was set to begin. Federal prosecutors have said he could have faced up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised probation.

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