At the time, Smith was sitting on the town council, as well as, allegedly, at the poker table twice a week, and Pennington believes authorities turned a blind eye because of his political status.<\/p>\n
“They all knew what was happening and they let it happen,\u201d claimed Pennington. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know he’s being left alone intentionally.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u00a0<\/strong>Whatever you think about North Carolina\u2019s hardline gambling laws, it shouldn\u2019t be one rule for politicians and another rule for everyone else, which prompted Fox 46 to investigate.<\/p>\nCaught Red-Handed<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhen the TV crew tried to doorstep the game, Smith refused them entry, but the players were unaware a hidden camera had been installed. It showed Smith handling a large amount of cash.<\/p>\n
“Get it off the table,” one player is heard saying, referring to the cash. “They can’t prove nothing as long as they can’t see it on the table.”<\/p>\n
Later confronted by a FOX 46 reporter, Smith repeatedly denied that any gambling had occurred at the bar.<\/p>\n
Next door, Stanfield Chief Corrie Faggart also professed himself to be shocked \u2013 shocked! \u2013 that gambling had been going on at the premises. He showed the reporter that Stanfield PD had issued a number of alcohol violations to Smith and Morgan\u2019s Tavern to prove the former councilman was not receiving preferential treatment.<\/p>\n
“You would think that being this close to a police department you would be crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s and making sure you’re not breaking the law,” suggested Faggart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Fox News sting on a \u201chigh-stakes\u201d poker game in a bar in Charlotte, North Carolina has landed one current and one former elected official in hot water. Fox 46 Charlotte confirmed Wednesday that former Stanfield Town Councilman Jason Smith and current Oakboro Commissioner Ernest Broadway, who is also the chairman of the Oakboro Police […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":77415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
North Carolina Politicians Facing Gambling Charges<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n