RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A former longtime North Carolina state legislator has pleaded guilty in federal court to fraud and tax charges following an indictment that alleged he spent more than $200,000 in campaign funds for his personal benefit.
Ex-Sen. Fletcher Hartsell of Concord entered the plea deal Friday in federal court. He pleaded guilty to three counts and is scheduled for sentencing in May.
The plea agreement says the maximum prison time for the mail fraud count is twenty years with three years for each tax count.
