Primary Primer For Mackey
Less than 24 hours before the primary election to retain his seat as a state representative, the North Carolina State Bar suspended the law license of Nick Mackey.
Yes, that Nick Mackey; the one who nearly hustled and conned his way into being named Mecklenburg County sheriff in 2008, until the results of a special election were tossed out the window by a panel that found gross irregularities in Mackey’s vote-procurement tactics.
In keeping with the proud tradition of Mecklenburg politics, Mackey, a Democrat, used his notoriety later that same year to get elected to state office, representing parts of northeast Mecklenburg – the same seat he’s defending in today’s primary election, where he faces Rodney Moore for the 99th House District.
The State Bar’s suspension was part of a consent order filed Monday, which Mackey had signed before his case went to a hearing scheduled later this week. By signing the consent order, Mackey agreed that he “engaged in dishonest conduct.”
If Mecklenburg voters have even half a wit, the State Bar’s order should rule out a return trip to the legislature for Mackey, who will lose his law license for three years, although he can petition to get it back with certain conditions after one year. Let’s hope one of the conditions is that Mackey will stop lying like a common criminal.
The suspension was triggered by what the State Bar described as “circumstances reflecting the defendant’s lack of honesty, trustworthiness, or integrity,” actions that constituted “a pattern of misconduct” and included “multiple offenses.”
To wit: when applying for his 2002 state bar exam, Mackey failed to disclose that he had failed to pay federal income taxes on time for 1997, 1999 and 2002, as well as state income taxes for two of those years, and that he owed past due taxes; Mackey also failed to disclose that he had been suspended without pay in 1991 from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department when he was under investigation for misconduct. Mackey resigned from the Police Department in 2003, after he had been recommended for dismissal. The State Bar also found that in 2006 Mackey had bungled an adoption case for one of his clients by missing a required deadline.
Quite the glowing Mackey endorsement for voters to consider when they cast their ballots today.
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