E-mails show how N.C. gov's wife got job

RALEIGH, N.C., June 9 (UPI) -- E-mails released by lawyers for North Carolina State University suggest former Gov. Mike Easley was involved in getting his wife a job there, a report said.

The documents showed Dan Gerlach, who was Easley's chief financial adviser at the time, asked McQueen Campbell, an Easley friend and university trustee who headed the personnel committee, about a job for Mary Easley, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.

Erskine Bowles, the university president, said the e-mails made him "feel sick" because Chancellor James Oblinger was not honest with him about the circumstances of Mary Easley's hiring. But he said they do not prove a crime was committed.

Federal prosecutors are investigating Easley's affairs, including the job created for his wife at the university.

Gerlach told the newspaper Easley asked him about finding a job for his wife. At the time, Mary Easley was teaching at North Carolina Central University, and the governor said she was tired of the long drives.

Averell "Ace" Smith, another Easley friend, said Mary Easley was hired based on her record as a prosecutor and a law professor.

"It is unfortunate that people want to play political football with the distinguished career of a talented woman," he said.