Stephen A. LaRoque
Stephen Alexander LaRoque was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's 10th House district, including constituents in Greene, Lenoir and Wayne counties. A business owner from Kinston, North Carolina, LaRoque served three terms.
LaRoque was defeated in the May 2012 Republican primary by John Bell.[1]
LaRoque was supposed to have redirected loans from the U.S Department of Agriculture to small business owners in rural areas with limited access to capital. He was indicted by a federal grand jury "on charges that he misappropriated money from a federal program..."[2] LaRoque resigned from the legislature in July 2012.[3] He was convicted on 12 counts including theft, money laundering and filing false tax returns. (2013) [4][5]
On August 1, 2013, two of the twelve counts were set aside by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Malcolm Howard, due to juror misconduct, and a new trial was ordered on those charges.[6][7]
He was released in May 2017 after serving one year and nine months.[8]
References
- ↑ Kinston.com: It's official: Bell wins District 10 over LaRoque
- ↑ WRAL: NC lawmaker charged with stealing money from federal program
- ↑ Rep. LaRoque resigns from House Archived 2012-07-28 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ state Rep. Stephen LaRoque convicted, Published: June 7, 2013 Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Stephen LaRoque, Republican Who Hired Unemployed Workers To Clean His Yard, Under Federal Indictment, Posted: 07/31/2012
- ↑ In 2014 the same judge set aside the remaining 10 counts. LaRoque pled guilty to borrowing and paying back his back pay owed to him through a contract for services. He took the plea because he knew he could not get a fair trial as a former politician.Juror misconduct leads to reduced convictions against LaRoque Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Laroque retrial order
- ↑ "Stephen LaRoque serves time, released from federal prison". WCTI. 2017-05-15. Retrieved 2017-09-15.