Charges mount against businessman

Attorney says Patrick Smith will plead not guilty.

By: John Dayberry | Hickory Daily Record
Published: November 12, 2009

CLAREMONT --

A businessman now faces three charges of receiving kickbacks from suppliers while serving as president of a Catawba County-based company that services the furniture industry.

On Monday, a Catawba County grand jury indicted Patrick Smith on two counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense.

Smith, who resigned from Cargo Consolidation Services Inc. in August, was arrested by Claremont police and given a $5,000 unsecured bond. His first court date on the charges is Friday.

Smith already was charged with one count of felony obtaining property by false pretense.

Capt. Gary Bost of the Claremont Police Department said the charges against Smith stem from his receipt of more than $22,000 from companies that were doing business with Cargo Consolidation Services, a provider of freight consolidation, third-party logistics and support services to the furniture industry.

Smith worked for the company for 20 years before joining Worldwide Logistics, a specialized furniture carrier formed last year with the merger of six furniture transportation companies. He is vice president of sales and marketing at Worldwide Logistics.

Jason White, an attorney representing Smith, said the businessman will plead not guilty.

In an earlier conversation with the Hickory Daily Record, Smith denied any wrongdoing.

He said the payments being questioned were commission-type arrangements that "did not affect the revenue stream" of Cargo Consolidation Services.

John Pope, Cargo Consolidation Services chairman, said Smith's compensation package was a fixed salary with a year-end bonus and no commissions allowed.

Ownership was unaware that suppliers were being asked to make payments to Smith and would never have condoned such a practice, Pope said.

Pope said Cargo Consolidation Services became aware of the unauthorized payments to Smith after he left the company.

Smith is a past president of the American Home Furnishings Alliance suppliers division, and has been active on the Furniture Foundation board of directors, the Specialized Furniture Carriers Association and the National Home Furnishings Association.