Tag: SC Budget and Control Board

Southern Holdings and Public Corruption

Public corruption cases are all the news in South Carolina lately and it’s time for the name Southern Holdings to be as scrutinized as Harrell, Metts or Pinson among others.

The Southern Holdings case stems from actions by the Horry County Sheriff’s Department and Horry County Police Department in June 2000 and August 2000, as well as subsequent events.

Southern Holdings, Inc. and several stockholders of this closely held corporation are plaintiffs in the case. Horry County, Horry County Police Department, Horry County Sheriff’s Department and various individuals are defendants in the case.

Any time you study an issue that evolves from the original Southern Holdings case, you get tangled in a web of lies, deceit and public corruption.

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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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Time to Rethink Government Cheese in South Carolina

Time to Rethink Government in S.C.

The vote last week by the state Budget and Control Board to slightly increase out of pocket contributions for health insurance premiums of local and state public agency employees has raised interesting questions about government in South Carolina.

The General Assembly included $20.5 million in the FY 2013 state budget to pay for health insurance premium increases for the 234,363 state and local public agency employees covered by the state health insurance plan.

The B&CB voted to have the employees covered by the plan participate in the premium increases to the tune of a $7.25 per month. Now some state legislators are crying foul on the B&CB saying the agency acted illegally.

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