A North Carolina local school board member has been sentenced to active prison time after being convicted of extortion and other crimes. Some are related to the attempted blackmail of a then-congressional candidate. Jurors found Johnston County school board member Ronald Lee Johnson Jr. guilty of four counts Friday.
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Crosswhite also ordered that Johnson, 41, be removed from the Johnston County school board, The News & Observer of RaleighThe court also revoked Johnson’s law enforcement certification. Johnson is a former Smithfield police officer who was fired in late 2022 on charges of “detrimental personal conduct,” the newspaper reported.
Johnson had been accused of threatening in 2022 to release compromising audio involving congressional candidate DeVan Barbour unless Barbour got a woman that they both knew to falsely deny that she was having an extramarital affair with Johnson. While on the witness stand Thursday, Johnson denied asking Barbour to get a statement from the woman, but rather he let Barbour know about the recording to help him out.
Corruption North Carolina School Boards Crime Indictments General News NC State Wire Education U.S. News Joseph Crosswhite Criminal Punishment Politics U.S. Republican Party U.S. News
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