Public money, personal gain

Stephen LaRoque will spend the next two years in a federal prison, punishment for stealing from the federally-funded non-profit he ran. LaRoque, 51, ...

The federal agriculture department has opened an ongoing investigation into state Rep. Stephen LaRoque’s two economic development non-profits, a spokeswoman for the agency ...

Lawmakers should conduct a bipartisan ethics investigation  into the business dealings of state Rep. Stephen LaRoque, a top Republican in the legislature said ...

State Rep. Stephen LaRoque’s federally-funded non-profit will pay thousands in contempt of court fines as part of the state lawmaker’s agreement to dismiss ...

A federal tax return for Stephen LaRoque’s nonprofit didn’t disclose a loan given to the lawmaker’s private company last year, despite the IRS ...

KINSTON—As N.C. Rep. Stephen LaRoque tells it on the campaign trail, both state and federal government are too big, wasteful of taxpayers' money and in the way of private business. "Government can't be all things to all people," said LaRoque, a conservative Republican from Kinston, in a televised debatebefore his 2010 re-election. "We need more self-reliance and accountability." ...

Stories in this investigation: NC lawmaker gets big pay while loaning friends federal money | LaRoque a polarizing force in N.C. General Assembly ...

Controversy stays close to N.C. Rep. Stephen LaRoque, a Kinston Republican whose unapologetic, aggressive style thrusts him into the spotlight on a regular basis. Now in his third term after a four-year hiatus, LaRoque was named co-chair of the powerful Rules Committee this year by N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis. ...

The USDA's Intermediary Relending Program works in areas where big banks won't by using infusions of federal cash to fight rural poverty through small business loans. The program has sent $280 million into the national economy over the last seven years, including $25 million in North Carolina. ...