RALEIGH — Ruffin Poole, a longtime aide to former Gov. Mike Easley who is accused of 57 corruption counts, has reached a plea deal with prosecutors, court records indicate.
A hearing is set for 2 p.m. today before U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle.
The terms of any plea deal are not yet known.
Officials could not be reached or have declined to comment.
Boyle must accept the deal before it is considered final and, if past cases are an indication, he will question both sides at today's hearing.
A deal would avert a trial that was set to begin in just two weeks.
Poole has pleaded not guilty to each of the 57 counts against him, including tax evasion, money laundering, racketeering and fraud. Prosecutors have alleged that Poole took money and gifts from developers while also influencing state permits those developers needed.
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