North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein ends the four-year long legal battle between former Madison County Sheriff John Ledford and the state over his firing from Alcohol Law Enforcement in 2013. Ledford - also a Democrat - was the head of ALE, but prior to the inauguration of Governor Pat McCrory, he took a demotion as a field agent and shifted a vacancy from one county to another so he could avoid the purge of the old administration and return to work in Madison County. Lower courts had ruled in Ledford's favor, that his firing was politically motivated. Stein withdrew the state's appeal and a settlement awards Ledford back pay and attorneys fees, plus he can return to work as an ALE field agent. He also is rehired at his $65,887 salary, which was the highest for a field agent in the state in 2013.