Black arts: our Mover and Shaker of the year has left a trail all over the state capital.

• Author: Orkin, Otto
• Position: Investigation of legislative officials - Brief article

A slug, they say, can slither across a razor without getting nicked. That's the way it has been the past year for Jim Black. As state and federal probes proceeded at a snail's pace, snaring some of his associates along the way, the speaker of the N.C. House oozed from scandal to scandal relatively unscathed. The State Board of Elections ruled that he had violated election laws, which he disputes, but, as of this writing, he has not been charged with a crime. That, he says, is because he has committed none.

It's a position he has maintained even after a former Republican representative pleaded guilty last summer to federal conspiracy charges, saying he switched parties in 2003 in exchange for $50,000. The move was crucial to Black winning the third of his four terms as speaker. During a hearing, Michael Decker identified Black as his co-conspirator. A lie, the speaker says.

In the controversies swirling around him--those involving lobbyists and the lottery, protecting the interests of the video-poker industry, promoting those of his fellow...