RALEIGH -- The Legislature may have to meet in special session to determine the fate of Rep. Thomas Wright, who was indicted on fraud and obstruction charges, the House speaker said Tuesday.

If the Legislative Ethics Committeee that's investigating Wright finds wrongdoing that merits punishment, then the General Assembly would be called back to Raleigh before the regular session begins in May, Speaker Joe Hackney said.

The ethics committee put its work on hold while criminal prosecutors investigated Wright.

Now the panel will resume its probe after Hackney spoke Tuesday with Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby, who led the investigation that resulted in Monday's indictment of Wright by a grand jury.

''The House will now move ahead expeditiously to resolve the matter,'' Hackney, D-Orange, told reporters.

If the committee ultimately recommends that Wright be expelled from the chamber or censured, the full House would debate and vote on Wright's future.

''I would anticipate that there would be a special session to consider them,'' Hackney said. ''It is not appropriate to have this matter linger around until May when we come back.''

The Legislature hasn't removed a member from office in 127 years. The state Constitution says the House is the judge of its members.

Wright, D-New Hanover, was indicted on five counts of fraud and one for obstruction of justice. The fraud charges relate largely to $160,000 in bank loans that prosecutors say Wright received under false pretenses for a Wilmington foundation he led.

The obstruction count involves $185,000 in campaign contributions since 2000 that authorities say Wright never reported. He could face up to nearly 8 years in prison on the most serious count.

Wright, 52, has declined to resign despite calls by Hackney, Gov. Mike Easley and others to step down in May, just after the State Board of Elections referred complaints to Willoughby. North Carolina's constitution also bars from public office anyone who is convicted of a felony.

The special session could be called by Easley, or by Hackney and Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, if three-fifths of the members in each chamber request one.

Wright, now in his eighth term, has not returned phone calls to his cell phone or legislative office Monday or Tuesday seeking comment. He also has declined to respond to allegations presented by the elections board.

It may take some time before lawmakers settle Wright's issues. Under state legislative ethics rules, the 12-member committee must give a lawmaker between 30 and 90 days before answering charges in a public hearing after the panel determines there is probable cause to investigate the lawmaker's conduct further.

The committee of six Democrats and six Republicans met in secret while reviewing preliminary allegations against Wright before state attorneys sought the delay.

The General Assembly hasn't removed a fellow legislator since 1880, when Josiah Turner of Orange County was expelled for violating House rules in a ''willfully disrespectful manner,'' according to records.

In 1996, the House censured then-Rep. Ken Miller, R-Alamance, for improper advances on a 16-year-old page, a female lobbyist and a legislative clerk.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, accused Democrats of not being forceful enough in seeking Wright's departure from the Legislature.

Wright is a former lieutenant to disgraced former Speaker Jim Black, who is now serving a five-year federal prison sentence on a corruption charge in a case unrelated to Wright.

''We saw with (Black) the very same reluctance by Democrats to stand with the people of North Carolina against corrupt politicians,'' Berger said.

Hackney has declined to speak further about Wright's actions because he may have to preside over debate on his censure by the House or expulsion.

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