{"id":736,"date":"2026-05-26T20:35:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=736"},"modified":"2026-05-26T20:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:35:51","slug":"search-warrant-details-kentucky-bourbon-distillery-trips-taken-by-nc-lawmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=736","title":{"rendered":"Search warrant details Kentucky bourbon distillery trips taken by NC lawmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A search warrant made public this month reports how liquor businesses covered expenses for 11 state lawmakers in 2022 and nine lawmakers in 2024 to attend distillery tours in Kentucky, both trips arranged by a nonprofit now under investigation.<\/p>\n

Read more Large alligator calmly walked house to house like a stray dog, NC officials say<\/a><\/p>\n

The warrant<\/a> was made public roughly a month after a Wake County grand jury indicted four lobbyists on a charge of violating the state law that bans gifts to state lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Special Agent Kailah Kearney of the State Bureau of Investigation sought the warrant to search bank records connected to Greater Carolina, a Mooresville-based nonprofit initially formed by a former aide in 2018 to then state Rep. Jason Saine.<\/p>\n

She said in the warrant \u201cthere is probable cause to believe that Greater Carolina orchestrated through the use of 501(c)(4) non-profit organizations to enable lobbyists and their principals to evade lobbying disclosure and reporting requirements from 2022 to present.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the information in this affidavit, your affiant believes there is probable cause to believe that information contained in the banking records . . . may be evidence of conduct and activities constituting violations of the Lobbying Act, the State Ethics Act, and hte offense of Obstruction of Justice by individuals associated with Greater Carolina, Inc., Diageo North America, and\/or Sazerac Company Inc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Yachts, jets and women: NC billionaire Greg Lindberg to pay for billions he stole<\/a><\/p>\n

The distillery tours did not become public until shortly after the second trip in April 2024, when an employee at one of the distilleries complained about the group\u2019s behavior. Carolina Forward, a left-leaning nonprofit based in Carrboro, subsequently obtained additional information about that trip and filed a complaint in August 2024. By then, Saine had left his legislative position and by year\u2019s end was lobbying for The Southern Group.<\/p>\n

Last week, The News & Observer reported that Saine was no longer working<\/a> for the Florida-based lobbying firm. He did not return messages seeking why, and the firm declined to comment.<\/p>\n

One of the four lobbyists indicted by the Wake grand jury is Kevin Wilkinson, who opened up The Southern Group\u2019s Raleigh office. The others are David Ferrell, Douglas Bowen Heath and Douglas Miskew. Each of the four<\/a> face a misdemeanor charge of solicitation to commit violations of the offense of giving gifts by lobbyists and lobbying principals.<\/p>\n

This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/i><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 3:43 PM<\/span> with the headline “Search warrant details Kentucky bourbon distillery trips taken by NC lawmakers.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Journalism veteran returns to NC to lead Charlotte Observer newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bank records sought after distillery trips for Kentucky lawmakers reveal potential Lobbying Act and ethics violations tied to Greater Carolina and alcohol companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nSearch warrant details Kentucky bourbon distillery trips taken by NC lawmakers - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=736\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Search warrant details Kentucky bourbon distillery trips taken by NC lawmakers - 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