Jerry Golding, who owns Dockside Dolls in Alamance County and other bars in South Carolina and Ohio, gave $3,000 to Black's campaign on Nov. 2, 2004. Golding's wife, Jeri, gave another $3,000 the same day, according to campaign records. Golding lives in Goochland County, Va., near Richmond, where he was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1993, according to the county sheriff.

"The speaker does not remember ever meeting or talking to Mr. Golding," said Black's spokeswoman, Julie Robinson, "and absolutely did not know about his conviction 12 years ago, but given this new information, he plans to return his contribution."

Dockside Dolls has been closed by court order for eight months over allegations of employees drinking and taking drugs on the job and dancers performing both simulated and actual sex acts, according to County Manager David Smith.

Four years after Golding's drug conviction, he was charged as a felon possessing a firearm. That case was eventually dismissed after legal help from celebrity lawyer F. Lee Bailey.

An opponent of Goochland County Sheriff James Agnew in the 2003 election returned $6,000 he received from Golding after the contribution was disclosed.

The donation to Black, a Matthews Democrat, is not the first time an N.C. politician returned money to Golding and other topless bar owners. Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat, returned a $2,777 contribution to Golding last year and $4,000 each to another bar owner and his son.

In Alamance County, local authorities conducted an undercover investigation at Dockside Dolls last year, found a variety of violations and filed a lawsuit to shut the club down. Club officials argued they had corrected the problems and were allowed by the courts to stay open, said Smith, the county manager.

Golding was charged in 1997 as a felon in possession of a firearm. The charge was dismissed two years later after arguments reached all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, in Richmond. His case was handled by Bailey, who has represented clients such as O.J. Simpson.

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