Morganton attorney released on bond

MORGANTON, N.C.,None — Morganton attorney and former Gov. Bev Perdue campaign staffer Juleigh Sitton turned herself in at the Wake County Magistrates Office on Wednesday, the Morganton News Herald reported.

She was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond, the magistrate reported, for one count of obstruction of justice.

Sitton is one of three people indicted Monday by a Wake County grand jury as part of an investigation into undisclosed flights leading up to Perdue's election win in 2008.

She was also indicted for false reports.

Trawick "Buzzy" Stubbs, indicted for filing false reports and obstruction of justice, turned himself in Wednesday. He was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond.

Peter Anthony Reichard, indicted on one felony obstruction of justice count, turned himself in Tuesday. He was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond.

The indictments say Sitton, who worked full-time as director of the govenor's western office, received monthly payments totalling $32,000 from Tryon Capital Ventures, LLC for her work and that those payments were not reported as campaign expenditures.

Sitton's indictment said Charles Michael Fulenwider, a Morganton businessman, funded the payments through Tryon.

Reichard is accused of soliciting money from Fulenwider and allowing him to make "excessive" contributions to Tryon.

Stubbs is a former law partner of Perdue's late first husband.

Stubbs' indictments say he contributed more than $28,000 to Perdue's campaign after he had already made the maximum contributions allowed by law. State law limits an individual's giving to a candidate committee to $4,000 per election.

The excess payments went toward multiple flights for Perdue's committee between Jan. 1, 2007 to Nov. 1, 2008.

Sitton is a Morganton attorney and has been licensed to practice law in the state for more than 15 years.

She resigned from her position in the governor's office in August. She also resigned, effective Nov. 26, from the Western Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees, where she served as a governor-appointed trustee.

Sitton is the daughter of WPCC Board of Trustees Chair and retired Superior Court Judge Claude Sitton and Jo Sitton, an active member of the Democratic Party.

Earlier this year, Robert Lee Caldwell of Morganton was indicted for felony obstruction of justice as a result of the investigation. His case is still pending.

For more Morganton news, visit Morganton News Herald.

WSOC