Frank Ballance
 |
Frank W. Ballance, Jr. |
Frank W. Ballance, Jr. (born
February 15,
1942),
American politician, was a
Democratic member of the
United States House of Representatives from
2002 to
2004, representing the 1st District of
North CarolinaBallance 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, briefly served as a faculty member of the
South Carolina State College School of Law before entering private practice in
1966. He served in the North Carolina National Guard reserves from
1968 to
1971 and married Bernadine Smallwood in
1969; they have three children.
Ballance was first elected to the state legislature in
1983 and served in the
North Carolina House of Representatives until
1986. In
1988, he was elected to the
North Carolina Senate; that same year, he had served as chair of the
Warren County chapter of the
NAACP. Ballance served in the state legislature until
2002, including as deputy president pro tempore from
1997 to
2002. He also served on 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 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.
On
September 2,
2004, Ballance was
indicted on federal charges including,
money laundering,
mail fraud, and
conspiracy to commit mail fraud with his son, Garey Ballance, a state district judge in
Warren County, North Carolina. Garey Ballance is also charged in the indictment with
income tax evasion. The charges arose after allegations were made that the elder 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 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. 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 is expected to be released from prison in June,
2009.
*
US Attorney on the plea agreement*
US Attorney on the indictment of the Ballances*
Ballance receives 4 years
