Frank Ballance
Frank Winston Ballance Jr. (February 15, 1942 – February 22, 2019) was an American politician and attorney who was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2004, representing North Carolina's 1st congressional district.
Frank Ballance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 1st district | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – June 8, 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Eva Clayton |
| Succeeded by | G. K. Butterfield |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 2nd district | |
| In office January 1, 1989 – January 1, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Monk Harrington |
| Succeeded by | Robert Lee Holloman (Redistricting) |
| Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 7th district | |
| In office January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | John Church Thomas Ellis William Watkins (Redistricting) |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Hardaway |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Winston Ballance Jr. February 15, 1942 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | February 22, 2019 (aged 77) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Bernadine Smallwood (m. 1969) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | North Carolina Central University (BS, JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1968–1971 |
| Unit | North Carolina National Guard |
In 2004, Ballance pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering, and was sentenced to four years in prison, two years supervised release, and fined $10,000.
Background
Ballance was born in Windsor, North Carolina. He graduated from W. S. Etheridge High School in 1959 and attended North Carolina Central University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1963 and a law degree in 1965.
After receiving his law degree, Ballance briefly served as a faculty member of the South Carolina State University School of Law before entering private practice in 1966. He served in the North Carolina National Guard Reserve from 1968 to 1971.
Political career
Ballance was first elected to the House of the state legislature in 1983 and served until 1986. In 1988, he was elected to the North Carolina Senate; that same year, he had served as chair of the Guilford County chapter of the NAACP. Ballance served in the state senate until 2002, including as deputy president pro tempore from 1997 to 2002. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees for both North Carolina Central University and Elizabeth City State University.
Ballance ran for and was elected to, the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina's 1st congressional district in 2002. After election to Congress, he served as the president of the 108th Congress's Democratic freshman class. Ballance served on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Small Business Committee.
On June 8, 2004, Ballance resigned from his seat due to health issues after being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis.[1] Ballance's successor, G. K. Butterfield, was elected in a special election on July 20.[2]
Criminal convictions
On September 2, 2004, Ballance was indicted on federal charges including money laundering, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The charges arose after allegations were made that Ballance took $2.3 million in state funds he secured as a State Senator for the John A. Hyman Memorial Youth Foundation and used the cash for the enrichment of himself, his family, and his church.
On November 9, 2004, a plea agreement was reached under which Frank Ballance pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering. In January 2005, he was disbarred from the practice of law in the state of North Carolina.[3] On October 12, 2005, he was sentenced to four years in prison, two years supervised release, and fined $10,000. He began serving his sentence at the medium-security federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, on December 30, 2005. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was released from prison in June 2009.[4]
His son, Garey Ballance, a state district judge in Guilford County, North Carolina, was also charged.[5] Garey Ballance was also charged in the indictment with income tax evasion. Garrey Balance was convicted, served in prison and was disqualified from becoming a judge again.[6]
Personal life and death
Ballance married Bernadine Smallwood in 1969, and together, they had three children. Ballance died on February 22, 2019, from surgical complications at a Raleigh hospital.[7][8]
See also
References
- "Ballance Cites Health Reasons For Retirement From Congress". Archived from the original on June 17, 2004. Retrieved June 10, 2004.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), WRAL.com, 2004-06-08 - G.K. Butterfield Elected To Fill Ballance's Term, WRAL.com, 2004-07-21.
- Robertson, Gary D. (April 13, 2009). "Ex-congressman serving prison time at home". WRAL.com. Associated Press. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- WRAL (June 22, 2009). "Ballance completes federal sentence :: WRAL.com". Retrieved April 3, 2017.
- http://www.abclocal.go.com Archived 2008-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, October 12, 2005, "Former Congressman Frank Ballamce Sentenced" by AP and Eyewitness News". Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- WRAL (May 4, 2007). "High Court: Ballance Can't Retake Bench :: WRAL.com". Retrieved April 3, 2017.
- "Former NC lawmaker and ENC Congressman dies". WITN. February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
- "Frank Ballance, former NC lawmaker and congressman, dies at 77". WRAL. February 26, 2019.
External links
- United States Congress. "Frank Ballance (id: B001238)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- US Attorney on the plea agreement at the Wayback Machine (archived December 4, 2004)
- US Attorney on the indictment of the Ballances at the Wayback Machine (archived December 4, 2004)
- Carolina Journal on the Ballance scandal
- Appearances on C-SPAN