The looming 1980 presidential election was all over the news, the unpopular incumbent Jimmy Carter facing the charismatic former actor and California Gov. Ronald Reagan.  A college junior in Boone walked into the Watauga County Board of Elections sometime in September and registered to vote in his first presidential election.

To the Editor:

On the one hand we have a president who is guilty of being old and frail. On the other hand we have a challenger who is guilty of sexual assault, fraudulent business transactions, bogus charities, campaign finance fraud associated with concealing a tryst with a porn star, and two impeachments among other charges yet to be prosecuted.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of North Carolina announced the completion of the Money Mule Initiative, an annual campaign to identify, disrupt and criminally prosecute networks of individuals who transmit funds from fraud victims to international fraudsters. 

The upcoming race for two alderman seats in Maggie Valley is sure to be exciting, but one Republican candidate is already drawing attention after allegations by a neighbor of voter registration fraud. 

Weeks after a hearing by the Graham County Board of Elections found probable cause to suspect that eight individuals had submitted fraudulent voter registrations in the tiny municipality of Lake Santeetlah, eagle-eyed observers noted six of the voters accused have re-registered in other locations.

A longtime leader in the Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad is facing criminal charges and a civil suit claiming he used lies and deception to position his construction company for a $2 million job building a new rescue station. 

While the federal marriage fraud case that’s been the topic of much discussion on the Qualla Boundary over the past year is winding down, FBI activity in Cherokee is likely to continue. 

After pleading guilty to involvement in a marriage fraud scheme, Ruth Marie Sequoyah McCoy, of Cherokee, was sentenced to two years of probation and a $2,000 fine in a hearing held Aug. 23 at the Western District of North Carolina U.S. District Court in Asheville. 

The reward for information leading to a conviction for ballot tampering in Cherokee’s September 2017 elections has been quadrupled from $25,000 to $100,000 following a unanimous vote from the Cherokee Tribal Council June 7. 

Two defendants in a marriage fraud case set to go to trial Monday, May 14, have opted to enter a guilty plea instead.