BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–At Monday night’s council meeting, county leaders were set to take up an item on the agenda aimed at providing legal representation for employees and elected officials “under investigation for actions taken in the course of their employment with Berkeley County.”
The measure comes five days after Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis asked SLED to investigate allegations of ethics violations involving Representative Samuel Rivers, member of the S.C. House of Representatives, Berkeley County Supervisor William Peagler, Deputy County Supervisor Tim Callanan and Berkeley County Councilman Ken Gunn.
Steven Smith, a candidate for S.C. House District 15, accuses Rivers along with Tim Callanan, who serves as the chairman for Berkeley County’s republican party, of attempting to bribe Elaine Barnett with a job in Berkeley County in return for her dropping out of the Berkeley County Council District 3 Primary which takes place on June 14th.
Barnett is running against Ken Gunn.
During the council meeting, public discussion of the agenda item never happened. Executive session to discuss paying for county employees’ legal fees was also canceled. According to Berkeley County attorney John Williams, it was no longer necessary to discuss the issue.
“We determined that the statutes quite clear. If a county employee is acting in good faith, it’s the duty of the Attorney General to step forward and provide a defense for them,” Williams told WCBD-TV. “It’s going to be up to each of the individuals what they want to do. And they can certainly reach out to the Attorney General and request the Attorney General defend them if they believe they acted in good faith.”
Williams told Raymond Owens that Peagler, Callanan and Gunn may wait to see how this investigation with SLED goes before determining if they will need an attorney.
Meanwhile, some Berkeley County citizens say they are upset that certain members of county council would even consider having Berkeley County taxpayers foot the bill for their legal representation.
“At this point and time it seems the ‘Gang of 4’ may have access to state funds and it would appear they are more than willing to use your hard earned tax dollars to fund their alleged criminal activities,” stated Donald Bailey via social media. “It is my hope that we will see the Berkeley County Republican Party fight just as hard to prevent these men from receiving taxpayer funds to mount their defense as the Party fought to prevent Amy Kovach! Wrong is wrong no matter what side of the isle.”
Bailey along with Smith and Barnett set the wheels of the SLED investigation in motion after approaching Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis about the allegations of possible bribery. A report was then filed with Lewis who asked SLED to step in and investigate.
Kovach is the former Berkeley County School District Communications Director who was found guilty in 2015 for misuse of public funds and misconduct in office for her involvement in the ‘YES 4 Schools’ campaign. She was fined $25,000 and given two years probation.
Recent Comments