The day after he was elected mayor in 1995, Pat McCrory took his dying father up to the top of the government center. Rollin “Mac” McCrory had been one of the most important figures in Pat’s story, and even though lymphoma would take his life two weeks later, Mac wanted to see how far his son had risen.
Former CMPD detective Garry McFadden, who’s now Mecklenburg’s sheriff, opened the doors and wheeled Mac to the windows overlooking the city. Mac stared for a few minutes, but then asked his son to come closer.
“Keep your damn zipper up,” Mac told Pat…