A federal judge denied former state lawmaker Stephen LaRoque’s requests this week to dismiss charges related to $300,000 that federal prosecutors believe he stole from two federally-funded non-profits.

The orders issued Monday and Wednesday by Senior United States District Court Judge Malcolm J. Howard clear the path for LaRoque’s May 20^th trial at the federal courthouse in Greenville, where a jury will decide his guilt or innocence on the allegations.

LaRoque, a Kinston Republican who resigned his legislative seat following his 2012 indictment, faces possible prison time, if jurors elect to convict him.

N.C. Policy Watch first raised questions about LaRoque’s excessive compensation from the non-profits in an August 2011 investigation, “Public benefits, personal gains,” and a federal grand jury began its own probe a month later by issuing subpoenas to LaRoque for records. The two non-profits were part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program seeking to combat poverty by creating a mechanism to offer loans to small business owners that traditional banks shunned. Instead, the investigation found LaRoque received generous salaries from a board of directors that consisted of his immediate family members while close associates of LaRoque’s received loans.

Howard’s orders to uphold the charges were filed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and let 10 of the 12 charges LaRoque faces stand. He also ordered that witnesses for both the defense and prosecutions except for the two FBI case agents be sequestered during the trial, meaning they can’t talk be in the courtroom during testimony nor share their own testimony.

Howard has not yet ruled on a final motion from LaRoque to dismiss two additional counts of falsifying tax reports. Read More…