As he awaits sentencing, former NCGOP Chair Robin Hayes gets a hand from an old foe
Twenty-four years after their bitter primary for North Carolina governor, former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot has reached out to help his one-time adversary, former state GOP chairman and U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes.
Hayes is still awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty last October to lying to federal investigators in one of the state’s biggest political corruption scandals. He faces up to six months in prison. No sentencing date has been set.
Hayes’s plea came in a case involving businessman Greg Lindberg, who with an associate was found guilty by a federal jury in March of trying to bribe state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. They also have yet to be sentenced.
Vinroot joined more than a dozen others in offering testimonials to Hayes in letters to U.S. District Court Judge Max Cogburn Jr. In the letter, Vinroot said he met Hayes during their 1996 Republican primary for governor.
“We contested long and hard, and endured much stress — as did our families and friends,” he wrote the judge. “Throughout that process Robin conducted himself at all times with honor and dignity, and as a gentleman — which he has continued to do in all of my encounters with him throughout the years since that time.”
In 1996 Vinroot accused the Hayes campaign of “character assassination” and hitting “below the belt.”
Hayes, who turns 75 next month, has similar testimonials from generals, a small business owner, people he’s mentored over the years, a former political aide and members of his family.
Hayes lost that 1996 governor’s race to Democrat Jim Hunt. He later served a decade in Congress and twice as state Republican chairman.
Lawyers said they don’t know when to expect a sentencing decision.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 4:12 PM with the headline "As he awaits sentencing, former NCGOP Chair Robin Hayes gets a hand from an old foe."
