South Carolina elected officials – Personal ATM
South Carolina elected officials and candidates have what amounts to a personal ATM that dispensed nearly $100 million since 2009 for such things as car repairs, football tickets, male-enhancement pills, GoPro cameras, overseas junkets and gasoline.
A joint investigation by The Post and Courier and the Center for Public Integrity also found state lawmakers and candidates used this cash machine to hire their own companies, pay parking tickets, purchase an AARP membership – and even buy a used BMW convertible for “parades.”
The money funding this political cash machine comes from candidates’ campaign accounts, reimbursements from state government and outright gifts from special interests.
The inner workings of this cash network typically remain hidden unless prosecutors subpoena questionable receipts and other evidence locked away from public view, as happened in the case of ex-House Speaker Bobby Harrell.
Really nothing surprising there to those of us who have watch the cesspool of Columbia corruption for years. But between Harrell’s deal and this journalistic investigation, will there be any actual fallout?
The article continues…
Amid this backdrop, The Post and Courier/Center for Public Integrity’s investigation found questionable spending under the state’s ethics laws to be pervasive and unrelated to party affiliation or geography. The investigation raises fresh questions about the shadowy ways candidates and elected officials spend money. Consider:
• Rep. Rick Quinn, R-Cayce, poured more than $105,000 into his own company and his father’s since 2009, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the campaign funds he spent.
• Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg spent $4,500 in campaign cash to buy drawings and prints by her husband, an artist.
Former House Majority Leader Jim Merrill of Daniel Island earned more than $215,000 from fellow lawmakers who in many cases simply described the Republican’s public relations work as “campaign expense,” “consulting” or “mail.”
• When candidates ran afoul of ethics laws, at least 26 used campaign money to pay their fines.
Before a trip out West in 2014, Clemmons used campaign money to buy two GoPro video cameras and a GoPro bike mount from Best Buy.
That same day, his campaign spent $107 at a Bass Pro Shops store in Myrtle Beach. In a campaign disclosure form, he described the Bass Pro Shops purchase as “campaign camping equipment.” When asked about this expenditure, Clemmons said the item was a backup battery and that the entry on his campaign form was an embarrassing mistake and should have simply said “campaign equipment.”
As with Clemmons, Rep. Michael Pitts, a Republican from Laurens on the House Ethics Committee, also enjoyed trips out West, spending nearly $6,000 jetting to Alaska, Oregon, South Dakota and Montana to hobnob with “sportsmen legislators.” Pitts said the summits were “mostly business” concerning hunting and fishing laws and initiatives. But photos from these events show Pitts and others proudly posing with freshly killed pheasants and other game.
Rep. Bill Sandifer III, R-Seneca, dipped into his campaign war chest to pay about $6,000 for charter plane “air taxis.”
State Treasurer Curtis Loftis,a Republican, paid three parking tickets, saving him $35. Loftis did not return calls seeking comment.
Up and down the political spectrum, both sides of the aisle. This story has much more, including gifts, and paying other legislators’ companies. Read it, share it. After seeing so much swept under the rug I have no real anticipation of justice, but … we do have a responsibility to be informed and keep pushing for reform.
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Source: http://www.spartanburgteaparty.org/2015/09/25/south-carolina-elected-officials-personal-atm/
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