Tag: SLED

Reynolds Williams Should Step Down

S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission chairman Reynolds Williams barely escaped having to step down as commission chair Thursday when his vote resulted in a 3-3 tie on a motion by S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

Loftis’ motion asked commissioners to remove Williams from the chair while he is under investigation by the S.C. Ethics Commission and S.C. Law Enforcement Division.

“The chairman has an immense amount of responsibility,” said Loftis in discussing the motion. “I don’t think that person, while under a significant amount of investigation, should be chairman.”

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Mark Keel, SLED Raid Internet Cafe's

SLED Raids Internet Sweepstakes Cafes

Two internet sweepstakes cafes, one in Richland County and one in Lexington County, were raided and shut down yesterday for illegal gambling by a combination of SLED agents and sheriff’s deputies.

End of problem right? Business owners trying to get around the state ban on gambling, except of course for the lottery, are now out of business.

Not really. Despite yesterday’s raids, an earlier opinion from Attorney General Alan Wilson that sweepstakes cafes are illegal gambling and confident statements by SLED chief Mark Keel that the games are illegal, they are NOT gambling.

In point of fact they are worse, but we’ll get to that later.

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The Investigation of Reynolds Williams and the $25 Billion S.C. Public Pension Fund Moves Forward

Williams Investigation Moves Forward

An investigation of alleged misconduct and conflict of interest against S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission chairman Reynolds Williams moved forward Tuesday when the S.C. Attorney General’s office requested SLED and the S.C. Ethics Commission to investigate the charges.

A Statement from AG Wilson’s Office: Based upon the nature of the allegations in the Treasurer’s letter, we are today forwarding the material we have on file to both SLED and the State Ethics Commission. (The Treasurer’s letter alleges activity that would fall under each authority, criminal and ethical.) When both entities have completed their reviews, we will then determine what, if any, prosecutorial action is warranted.

Enumerated in a letter from S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis to Attorney General Alan Wilson, the allegations stem from work Williams’ law firm did for American Timberlands, LLC while the company was being considered as a partner on an investment by the SCRSIC.

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Reynolds Williams, The Timber Company And Our $25 Billion Pension Fund

Reynolds Williams and… that timber company

S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis has requested S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson to investigate the actions of S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission chairman Reynolds Williams with respect to a joint investment the commission made with American Timberlands, LLC.

Loftis said the investment seemed straightforward at the time, but information he became privy to after the commission vote brings to light possible conflict of interest problems for Williams and possible criminal violations.

The investment commission took up the matter of the investment during its November 2011 Wampee Reteat and business meeting. Commission members, less Williams who was not present for the vote, approved the investment.

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Light Goes Out at CASA

I was saddened last week to read that SLED is investigating Citizens Against Spouse Abuse for misappropriation of funds.

My first thought was ‘there goes another point of light, extinguished through the selfishness of public policy.’

On second thought, I realized this has nothing to do with public policy, because in today’s political environment, there is no public policy. There is government policy, business policy, even wine policy but the public doesn’t deserve a policy.

President George H.W. Bush warned this was coming in his inaugural address nearly 24 years ago:

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Horry County Police Changing at Top (Updated 2/10)

With the SLED investigation of the Horry County Police Department complete and the Attorney General’s Office finding nothing of prosecutorial merit in the findings, the Horry County Police Department is now in position to move on to a new beginning.

With the investigation exonerating the police department and its evidence handling procedures, Chief Johnny Morgan will soon announce his retirement. Sources tell Grand Strand Daily that Morgan has been in the process of cleaning out his office and was just waiting for the investigation to be completed so he would not retire under a cloud of suspicion.

According to sources close to the department, Assistant Chief David Beatty’s days are also numbered. Beatty is rumored to not be the choice to replace Morgan and he has been applying for positions in other departments around the state.

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Loftis and the High Cost of Political Courage

What happens when a newly elected South Carolina official tries to bring openness and accountability to the management of the state’s retirement system investment commission?

He finds himself in the news after “documents” are leaked, to the Associated Press, in which a possible “pay to play” scheme is mentioned and a SLED investigation is requested by the SC Attorney General’s office.

Looking at it another way, S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis finds himself in a political knife fight for trying to buck South Carolina’s “good ol’ boy” system.

Loftis has been a critic of the management of the state’s pension fund for much of his 13 months as treasurer. On January 31, 2012, Loftis outlined problems associated with the pension fund during testimony to the Senate Finance Retirement Committee.

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