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Michael F. Easley, former district attorney, attorney general and two-term governor, last week added “convicted felon” to his record. It was a sad event for North Carolina.

Also a puzzling one, because lengthy state and federal investigations ended in a Wake County courtroom Tuesday with Easley entering an Alford plea — not admitting guilt but acknowledging there may have been grounds for a conviction — to just one charge related to falsifying a campaign-finance report about a helicopter flight worth $1,600.

The deal let Easley’s defenders say there was never any substance to charges of widespread corruption drummed up by political enemies and an overzealous media. Prosecutor William Kenerly cited “vague statutes and hotly contested evidence” as impediments to a tougher conclusion. He said it was important, however, that “the former governor is now a convicted felon, a result that I consider to serve the interests of justice in this case.”

A matter of immunity?

Key to the outcome in an unexpected way may have been hearings held last year by the State Board of Elections, which looked into allegations of campaign-finance violations. Testimony indicated that Easley accepted dozens of campaign flights without reimbursing the providers or listing the value as contributions, and allowed campaign funds to pay for repairs to a house he owned.

In sworn testimony, Easley said he was never aware of financial wrongdoing by his campaign. The politician who won four statewide elections added, “Well, to my knowledge I don’t think I’ve ever seen a campaign report.”

The board levied a $100,000 fine against his campaign for failing to report various services as donations, which would have broken contribution limits, and referred its findings to the Wake County District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal prosecution.

But further legal proceedings against Easley may have been blocked by an obscure statute holding that someone compelled to give sworn testimony about his own possible violation of state election laws “shall be immune from prosecution on account thereof.” In other words, Easley’s testimony to the State Board of Elections may have protected him from criminal charges related to the issues he was asked about during that hearing. The question of the helicopter flight did not come up.

A battered reputation

Whether justice was served or Easley escaped full accountability will be debated for a long time. But his reputation was battered by reports that he used the influence of his office to obtain a high-paying, made-to-order job for his wife at N.C. State University, accepted a cut-rate deal on coastal property and other perks, and skirted campaign-finance laws.

“The composite picture of lucrative special favors, deceit, and illegal campaign practices involved in the Mike Easley case serves as another reminder of how public officials and candidates eager for money will bend rules, even cross the line, to obtain extra funds,” said Bob Hall, executive director of the watchdog group Democracy North Carolina.

Easley was assessed just a $1,000 fine and court costs for his lone conviction. Yet, if it had it occurred while he was still in office, likely would have led to impeachment.

Ignominy is Easley’s real ball and chain. He’ll drag it behind him for the rest of his life, and it will mark his otherwise undistinguished tenure as governor. He becomes the highest-ranking in a line of North Carolina politicians convicted of felonies during this decade. They include Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, Speaker of the House Jim Black, U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance and state Reps. Michael Decker and Thomas Wright.

Personal responsibility

If any hope emerges from these scandals, it’s that elected officials and candidates will take personal responsibility for complying with campaign-finance laws and other ethical requirements. And those laws should demand personal accountability. That $100,000 fine charged to Easley’s defunct campaign — which it hasn’t paid — should have been imposed on Easley personally. It was his campaign, and he benefited from its success.

The people of North Carolina have a right to expect lawful conduct by their elected leaders or those who seek positions of power. Easley broke faith with the public — not with wholesale corruption but in ways that revealed a sense of entitlement, a desire to make the office serve himself and his family rather than a devotion to serve the people.