(By Benjamin Niolet, ben.niolet@newsobserver.com) Former Gov. Mike Easley kept a private e-mail account that he used for state business.Easley's former communications director Sherri Johnson testified in a deposition that Easley kept the secret account and used it for state business. Johnson was being deposed as part of a public records lawsuit filed by The &, The Charlotte Observer, The John Locke Foundation and several other news media outlets over access to e-mail messages.