Wake School embezzler to serve more time

RALEIGH, NC Harold Estes, 63, has been behind bars for two years. Monday he walked into a Wake County courtroom with the assistance of a cane. Under a special provision of North Carolina law, he served notice to the court that he plans to serve an additional 30-days on his 9-year sentence to avoid paying his $500,000 fine. The judge says he can do that, but the judge also allowed the district attorney to make the fine a lien against Estes' property.

The judge says once Estes serves his entire sentence and the extra month, he can then ask Wake's Clerk of Court to remove the lien.

Estes wife, Connie Capps, was a former manager for Barnes Motor and Parts. Capps and other Barnes employees, as well as Wake Schools employees were among those charged with submitting fake invoices for almost $4 million dollars worth of work that was never done from 2002 to 2004.

The school system has recovered all the money.