Meg Scott Phipps was the
Commissioner
of Agriculture for the state of North Carolina
from 2001 to 2003.
Early life
She is the daughter of former
North Carolina governor Bob Scott and granddaughter of former U.S.
Senator and North Carolina Governor
W.
Kerr Scott.
Phipps is a 1978
graduate of Wake Forest University
and a 1981 graduate of the Norman Adrian Wiggins School
of Law at Campbell
University
.
Career
A
Democrat, she was
elected to the position of Agriculture Commissioner in November
2000.
Controversy erupted less than a month into
her term when she selected a new midway vendor for the North Carolina
State Fair
, replacing a longtime vendor, who filed suit
against the state. In May 2001, allegations emerged of
inappropriate use of campaign funds from her 2000 campaign.
Resignation and criminal charges
After two campaign aides were
indicted
and one
pleaded guilty to federal
fraud and
extortion
charges,
North Carolina
Governor Mike Easley asked Phipps to
resign her position, which she held fast to through a month of
additional investigations. She finally resigned her position on
June 6, 2003, and was replaced by interim commissioner
Britt Cobb.
In October 2003, Phipps was tried and was found guilty in state
court on
perjury and
obstruction of justice charges; soon
afterwards, she
pleaded guilty to five
of the original 30 federal charges against her, including
fraud,
conspiracy,
and
witness tampering.
In March
2004, she was sentenced to four years in federal prison and served
her sentence at Alderson
Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia
.
Later life
On April 23, 2007, Phipps was released from prison. She wore an
electronic ankle bracelet and was able to leave her house only to
go to work through August.
The Raleigh
News &
Observer reported that she would become director of
Christian education at Hawfields
Presbyterian Church, her family church, in Alamance
County
.
External links
Footnotes
- newsobserver.com | Phipps released from
prison
- Top News: Phipps to be released from prison,
phipps, prison, family - www.thetimesnews.com
- newsobserver.com | Church job, ankle bracelet await
Phipps after prison
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