BOLIVIA—Rex Gore, former district attorney for Brunswick, Columbus and Bladen counties, maintains he did not benefit financially from an arrangement with one of his former assistant district attorneys as alleged in a recent indictment.
Gore was indicted Monday, August 20, by a Brunswick County grand jury. The charge, conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense, stemmed from acts alleged to have occurred between May 2005 and December 2010.
The indictment charges Gore and former Assistant District Attorney Elaine Kelley with conspiring to submit $14,000 worth of false expense reports “seeking monetary reimbursements for travel expenses that she did not incur and therefore was not entitled to receive reimbursements.”
Kelley has been indicted on two charges—obtaining property by false pretenses and felonious conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses.
“I have no reason to doubt that each week she claimed that mileage; she consistently traveled at least that many miles.”
Gore, 64, of Shallotte, turned himself in to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance.
Gore hired Kelley in 2005 to supervise prosecutions in Bladen County. Since she was to commute more than 500 miles each week, Gore included a travel component in her compensation—a choice he believed he could make as elected district attorney.
“I had several options available. In the end, I chose a travel mileage plan that limited her to 125 miles for commuting. I have no reason to doubt that each week she claimed that mileage; she consistently traveled at least that many miles,” Gore said in a written statement.
Gore said Kelley continued with this compensation package until 2010, when District Attorney Jon David replaced Gore.
“Even though we have entered this current phase, I still take comfort in three things: I received no monetary benefit from my choice; Ms. Kelly received no more money than she would have had I chosen a different compensation package method; and Bladen County had one of the most aggressive, effective prosecutors in the state when she was there,” Gore said.
The investigation into Gore and Kelley was launched in January 2010 at the request of a superior court judge, though N.C. Department of Justice spokeswoman Noelle Talley declined to name the judge.
In December 2011, the findings were forwarded to special prosecutors in N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office.
Attorneys James Payne and Mike Ramos of Brunswick County will represent Gore.
“We would like to say that we are disappointed that a question arising from an administrative decision made in 2005 has been turned into a criminal case over seven years later. We look forward to letting a jury hear the facts and clear him of all charges,” Payne and Ramos said in a joint statement.
James Coman has been named special prosecutor by Cooper’s office.
Coman also served as special prosecutor in the matter of former state Sen. R.C. Soles Jr., when he pleaded guilty to shooting Kyle Blackburn at Soles’ Tabor City home in 2009.
