Restrictions to Access

This collection contains additional materials that are not processed and are currently not available to researchers. For information about access to these materials, contact Research and Instructional Services staff. Please be advised that preparing unprocessed materials for access can be a lengthy process.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Washington Group, Inc., Records #4605, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Richard A. Gilbert of Greensboro, N.C., in January and May 1992 (Acc. 92013, 92068) and in September 2005 (Acc. 100210).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Bagley, Smith W.
• Bankruptcy trustees--North Carolina.
• Bankruptcy--North Carolina.
• College sports--Moral and ethical aspects--North Carolina.
• Corporate reorganizations--North Carolina.
• Gilbert, R. A. (Richard A.)
• Gilley, James Ray, 1934-
• Securities fraud.
• Wake Forest University--Basketball.
• Washington Group, Inc. (Winston-Salem, N.C.)--Reorganization.

The Washington Group, Inc., of Winston-Salem, N.C., was assembled in 1973 by R. J. Reynolds heir Smith W. Bagley and James R. Gilley and was composed of numerous companies, including Washington Mills of Virginia, Mayberry Ice Cream Shoppes, High's of Richmond, Johnston Mills Company of Charlotte, Diener Corporation of Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, and various retail outlets.

The collection consists of records relating to the Chapter X bankruptcy of the Washington Group, Inc., food and textile conglomerate of Winston-Salem, N.C., chiefly collected by Richard A. Gilbert of Greensboro, N.C., who was appointed company trustee when bankruptcy proceedings began in 1977. Included are reorganization plans, files on individuals important in the proceedings, financial reports, and clippings. Also included are materials documenting various lawsuits and other actions related to the bankruptcy, ranging from the trial of Bagley and Gilley on counts of fraud and stock manipulation and Gilley's suit against the banks that he charged had forced the Washington Group into bankruptcy, to investigations of Gilley's alleged financial dealings with a Wake Forest University basketball player and misconduct on the part of the judge in the stock fraud trial. There are also materials relating to Richard A. Gilbert's own 1982 claim against the Washington Group for additional compensation for his work during the four-and-a-half year bankruptcy struggle.