Author: Paul Gable

Federal Tort Claims Lawsuit – Part III

A federal tort claims lawsuit, with Horry County and former Horry County Police Department Chief Johnny Morgan included as defendants, is moving forward in Florence federal district court as discovery and depositions are scheduled later this month.

Last week, we posted the first two parts of this series. Part III concentrates on the attempts by plaintiffs’ expert Steve Cain to analyze the original videotapes shot from HCPD patrol cars of the arrest of James Spencer on August 6, 2000.

Cain had already analyzed a copy of the videotape from the police vehicle operated by HCPD officer Jay Brantley during the arrest of Spencer. The videotape from the Brantley vehicle was a key piece of evidence that backed up claims by Spencer of violation of civil rights and police brutality.

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Pondering 9/11 and the Future

The eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is a time to look back and remember that awful day in 2001 when Arab terrorists attacked our homeland. However, it is also a time to look back on significant changes in America over the last 11 years and ponder whether the country needs to reevaluate itself.

During those 11 years, our national debt has increased from approximately $4 trillion when George W. Bush took office to approximately $15 trillion today. It took 191 years (1789 – 1980) for the U.S. to amass a national debt of approximately $1 trillion. Now we do that every year and neither of our two major political parties has demonstrated an ability to change that trend.

Our politics are probably more polarized than at any time in our history since the 1860’s. Our politicians exhibit all the characteristics of a bunch of empty suits crowding around one or the other of two extreme poles with a yawning chasm between them.

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Spending the State’s Excess Cash

Spending the State’s Excess Cash

When S.C. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom’s office reported recently that state agencies had approximately $166 million in excess cash from last year’s general fund budget, one place you knew it wouldn’t wind up is back with the taxpayer.

Politicians in this most conservative of states are constantly preaching the mantra of reduced spending, smaller, less intrusive government and greater individual freedom. It just never seems to work out that way.

The overall state general fund budget for FY 2012 was approximately $5.48 billion with state agencies not spending the $166 million mentioned above. General fund revenues are projected to increase during the current fiscal year, FY 2013, to $6.09 billion.

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Nikki Haley’s Foreign Vacations

You have to give Gov. Nikki Haley credit. By the end of this week and in less than two years in office, she will have visited three of the world’s great cities. Even better for her, Haley’s foreign vacations are being paid for with taxpayer dollars.

These three trips, London, Paris and Tokyo, are billed under that great government boondoggle category “economic development.” No big surprise there, it’s the category always used when the real intent is ‘We want to use public dollars to advance private agendas.’

In Haley’s case, however, I believe her private agenda is political more than personal. Remember, this is a governor with two paid staffers (taxpayer dollars) to advance her image and profile.

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Federal Tort Claims Lawsuit Part II

A federal tort claims lawsuit, with Horry County and former Horry County Police Department Chief Johnny Morgan included as defendants, is moving forward in Florence federal district court as discovery and depositions are scheduled later this month.

The suit stems from allegations of fraud on the court under color of law by HCPD officers, SLED agents and FBI agents, among others. The suit alleges personnel of these agencies conspired to withhold evidence, commit perjury and commit other unlawful acts in order to influence the outcome of a previous federal lawsuit, thereby violating the civil rights of the plaintiffs.

This is Part II of a series on how and why the county and its police department are now involved in defending a claim against them in excess of $100 million.

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Secrecy Surrounding MBREDC Projects

Secrecy continuing to surround MBREDC projects in Horry County is starting to wear thin with some council members.

Two Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation projects took up most of the time during a meeting of Horry County Council Tuesday night. Of course, most of the discussion about Project Blue and Project AF took place behind closed doors in executive session, which is standard operating procedure for the EDC.

Council member Gary Loftus and council chairman Tom Rice tried to give excuses for the secret sessions, citing such things as the need to keep information secret in order to maintain a negotiating edge and council members were elected by the public to make these kinds of decisions.

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Federal Tort Claims Lawsuit Against Horry County Moves Forward

Federal Tort Claims Lawsuit Moves Forward

A federal tort claims lawsuit, with Horry County and former Horry County Police Department Chief Johnny Morgan included as defendants, is moving forward in Florence federal district court as discovery and depositions are scheduled later this month.

The suit stems from allegations of fraud on the court under color of law by HCPD officers, SLED agents and FBI agents, among others. The suit alleges personnel of these agencies conspired to withhold evidence, commit perjury and commit other unlawful acts in order to influence the outcome of a previous federal lawsuit, thereby violating the civil rights of the plaintiffs.

An extraction, by plaintiff James Spencer, from the initial notice of the federal tort claims suit reads:

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Controversial EDC Project Blue on Hold for Now

Controversial MBREDC Project Blue on Hold

The Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation has requested the final vote by Horry County Council on Project Blue incentives be delayed from its currently scheduled September 4, 2012 regular council meeting.

Third reading approval and public review of Ordinance 53-12 is currently listed as a published agenda item for the September 4th meeting. The ordinance proposes to issue up to $8 million in county general obligation debt to help fund incentives of the project. The agenda will have to be amended to delay third reading.

According to information we have received, EDC CEO Brad Lofton notified county officials in an e-mail late Thursday afternoon that, while the project retains full support of the EDC, the agency was requesting a short delay before third reading is considered by council.

Project Blue ran into trouble earlier in the week when myhorrynews.com broke a story about the criminal history of Covation COO David L. Rocker, which includes a tax fraud conviction, jail sentence and continuing tax liens.

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Citizens Pushing Far Reaching Ethics Reform In South Carolina

Citizens Pushing Far Reaching Ethics Reform

It is well past time for true ethics reform in South Carolina. Not the reform that our ethically challenged governor and her attorney general sidekick ran around the state last week attempting to claim as their own.

That really was a performance. Gov. Nikki Haley on a taxpayer funded circuit around the state promoting ethics reform that she would have been guilty of violating when she was a state representative. Haley also promoted stiffer freedom of information laws while her current administration routinely disregards FOIA requests.

With Haley it’s not what she says, it’s what she does. The word hypocrisy is too tame to apply to her.

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Controversial EDC Project Blue on Hold for Now

Public Money, Corporate Welfare

The revelations Monday of a tax fraud conviction and jail sentence for one of the company officials associated with the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation’s Project Blue leads to a conclusion of an apparent shocking lack of due diligence by a number of entities charged with fiscal responsibility for the expenditure of public money.

In many state and local jurisdictions throughout the U.S., conviction of a felony by a corporate officer, especially one associated with tax fraud, would automatically exempt a company from consideration for public money economic development incentives. Such does not appear to be the case in Horry County or South Carolina.

The EDC has put together a deal that would involve approximately $24 million in local and state incentives to Covation, a startup company with no demonstrated performance records.

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