Accusations distill developer's fears.

• Author: Maley, Frank
• Position: Tar Heel Tattler

The accusation could have come from an Oliver Stone script: "This is a complex and intricate conspiracy involving extortion, corruption and racketeering by public and private individuals reaching the highest levels of state government."

Bill Horton's conspiracy theory received play in several news outlets, but he says he isn't sure such a cabal really existed. The provocative language was mostly legal posturing, he admits, so his lawyer could question those he thinks might have undercut his efforts to build two $75 million ethanol plants, one in Martin County and one in Beaufort County.

His list includes Ricky Wright, a member of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, and Rick Watson, president of North Carolina's Northeast Partnership, one of the state's seven regional economic-development groups. Horton, president of Raleigh-based commercial developer DH Group, claims that investors led by Wright pressured him to sell out to them for $3 million in December, but he refused.

He thinks, but offers no proof, that the group might have delayed environmental permits. BB&T called in two of the loans shortly after the December meeting, which landed BB&T on his list. But he admits the timing could have been a coincidence. He says Watson, who set up the December meeting, told...