NC lobbyists indicted on charges of giving gifts to NC lawmakers over whiskey tours

At least four lobbyists have been indicted on allegations that they arranged illegal gifts for state lawmakers.

The indictments, filed in Wake County on Wednesday, are tied to Kentucky bourbon distillery tours in 2024, which were attended by lobbyists and politicians. Prosecutors allege that several of the lobbyists asked companies they worked for to contribute to a political nonprofit called Greater Carolina, which then paid for the trips. State law bans lobbyists from providing any sort of gift to an elected official, either directly or indirectly.

Greater Carolina is a so-called “dark money” group that’s typically able to hide its donors from public view. It’s one of several that has been active in North Carolina politics in recent years.

The 2024 trips made headlines at the time after anonymous allegations were made online of boorish behavior by some of the attendees. Greater Carolina dismissed the allegations as “overblown” at the time and said that the trip was a fundraising event in which donors paid for access to lawmakers. After the trips gained attention in news coverage, a watchdog group asked authorities to investigate. 

Among those charged, according to the indictments:

• Douglas Bowen “Bo” Heath, a lobbyist for McGuireWoods. Prosecutors allege that Heath requested and encouraged Diageo North America — a major liquor manufacturer — to make a contribution to Greater Carolina with the knowledge that the payment would be used to fund a trip that included transportation to and from and a tour and tasting at its Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, Kentucky; and, to pay for a dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse in Louisville, Kentucky, at which it was recognized as the sponsor for a group of individuals that included members of the North Carolina General Assembly.
• Douglas P. Miskew, a lobbyist for Public Sector Group. Prosecutors allege that Miskew requested and encouraged Churchill Downs Inc. to host and pay for a group of individuals including a number of members of the North Carolina Assembly at Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby, for Opening Race Night including a buffet with food and beverages.
• David Ferrell, a lobbyist for Maynard Nexsen PC. Prosecutors allege that Ferrell requested and encouraged the North Carolina Spirits Association to make a contribution to Greater Carolina with the knowledge that money would be used to pay to host a group of individuals including a number of members of the North Carolina General Assembly for a “barrel pick” and lunch at Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky, and at a reception at The Thoroughbred Society at which the North Carolina Spirits Association was identified as a sponsor.
• Kevin Wilkinson, the president of The Southern Group. Prosecutors allege that Wilkinson requested and encouraged Sazerac Company — a major producer of spirits and cocktails — to host a group of individuals including a number of members of the North Carolina General Assembly at the company’s Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfurt, Kentucky, for a tasting and dinner for which Sazerac paid.

Ferrell, Heath, Miskew and Wilkinson didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Mark Bowles, chairman of McGuireWoods Consulting, said the company supported Heath. “[We] believe he did nothing wrong and are confident that will become apparent,” Bowles wrote.

Representatives of Greater Carolina, Diageo, Sazerac, Churchill Downs and the North Carolina Spirits Association also didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. 

The events detailed in the indictments were part of “a multi-day, invitation-only tour of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, for which travel expenses — including transportation, hotel accommodations and meals, and costs, if any, associated with scheduled tours and activities — were paid for for legislators who attended by lobbyist principals directly and indirectly through contributions made to Greater Carolina … with the intent that an ultimate beneficiary of those contributions would be legislators.”

It details free food and drinks, multiple bourbon distillery tours, a trip to the site of the Kentucky Derby racetrack and at least one steakhouse dinner as among the improper gifts provided to legislators. 

The indictments come more than a year after leaders of progressive advocacy group Carolina Forward complained about Greater Carolina to the charitable solicitation division of the Secretary of State’s office. 

Blair Reeves, the founder of Carolina Forward, alleged in the August 2024 complaint that Greater Carolina improperly used its nonprofit tax status and evaded the state’s ban on gifts to public officials. The complaint alleged that the organization provided a cover for “covert and unreported lobbying” at luxury events that have benefited lawmakers.

The State Bureau of Investigation had been investigating the trip since September for possible criminal charges, at the request of Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, WRAL reported in February. It wasn’t immediately clear if the investigation is over, or if more charges could still be coming. Freeman declined to comment on Wednesday.

Reeves’ complaint raised transparency concerns about dark money groups, which are generally exempt from certain donor disclosure requirements but must still comply with some reporting rules under state law. He alleges that the group behind the trip did not meet those obligations.

"Our team is gratified that breaking North Carolina state law still carries consequences, even for well-connected lobbyists,” Reeves said in a statement on Wednesday. “We look forward to seeing where else the Wake County District Attorney's investigation leads, and hope this is the beginning of a renewed focus on political corruption in our state legislature."

Greater Carolina was organized as a 501(c)4 social welfare organization. Under federal tax law, such nonprofit organizations must have as their primary objective the promotion of civic good.

Social welfare groups can lobby for legislation, but they can’t intervene in political campaigns, and political activities cannot be their primary purpose. They can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals as well as corporations and don’t have to disclose their donors.

On tax documents, Greater Carolina has said its mission is “to ensure North Carolina embraces the policies necessary to maintain and support our status as one of the best states in the nation for business and free enterprise.”

Reeves alleged in his 2024 complaint that Greater Carolina’s actual purpose was to act as a passthrough for unlimited contributions from alcohol and gambling interests to a powerful lawmaker who helped those interests achieve their legislative goals while circumventing campaign finance laws and ethics rules. That complaint alleged that Greater Carolina had raised and spent $1.5 million with no record of how or why it was spent.

Reeves’ organization also alleged that Greater Carolina was improperly using its nonprofit tax status to bankroll then-state Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln County, who was a lead budget writer. Saine resigned from the legislature in 2024 and now works as a lobbyist. He declined to comment on the charges Wednesday. 

The companies whose lobbyists have been charged include two large alcohol conglomerates — Diageo and Sazerac, which own dozens of major brands such as Buffalo Trace, Blanton’s, Johnnie Walker and Crown Royal — as well as horse racing giant Churchill Downs and the North Carolina Spirits Association, which advocates for local distilleries.