The first of three former campaign staffers and associates turned himself in Tuesday morning. In all, they face a total of five felony counts of obstruction of justice and filing false reports. It's all linked to an investigation of campaign irregularities.
It all started over with the investigation of flights and evolved into other investigation.
Peter Reichard turned himself into authorities in Raleigh, was booked and set free. Riechard is charged with obstruction of justice, It's a charge he apparently doesn't plan to fight in court.
The 54-year-old stepped in front of a magistrate just before noon, was read the charges against him and told his bond was set by a judge at $50,000. The indictment accuses him of funneling $32,000 from a third party through his company to supplement the salary of a Perdue campaign staffer.
That money, according to the indictment, came from a third party and wasn't reported.
Reichard walked out of jail about an hour after he walked in.
His bond is unsecured so he didn't have to put up any cash or property because authorities expect he will show up in court when he is supposed to.
He didn't comment, but his attorney says, while he is disappointed about being charged, he is willing to accept responsibility for his actions.
"We're happy to have this step over with. We are looking forward to trying to bring this case to a swift resolution," said Reichard's attorney Hart Miles. "As y'all know, the indictment speaks to events that happened close to four years ago. So Peter's anxious to move past this and get on with the rest of his life."
The attorney made it pretty clear that he will ask the district attorney for a plea deal.
The maximum jail time for the charge is eight-to-ten months, so it's likely he could get off with no time behind bars.
The other two people who have been indicted are expected to turn themselves in over the coming days.
Classifieds | Report A Typo |
Send Tip |
Get Alerts | See Click Fix
Follow @abc11 on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook
