SLED is 3rd agency asked to investigate Recreation Commission
A third law enforcement agency now has been called on to investigate the Richland County Recreation Commission.
State Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Richland, has asked the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate the commission, whose director and some board members face multiple lawsuits and accusations of misconduct including sexual harassment and bribery.
“The individuals involved, as well as the taxpayers of our county, deserve an independent review of this matter so that justice can be served,” Ballentine wrote in a letter to SLED Chief Mark Keel late last week.
“I believe a state agency should handle this,” Ballentine said in an email to The State newspaper. “Hopefully, his team can help us restore some sort of confidence in Richland County government.”
A week before Ballentine’s request to Keel, four other state legislators representing Richland County asked the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office to investigate any possible criminal activities involving the legislative-controlled commission. Before that, on April 13, a separate Richland County delegation trio asked the Richland County Sheriff’s Department to investigate the commission.
Columbia attorney Lewis Cromer, who represents four employees and former employees of the Recreation Commission who have filed legal suits against its director, James Brown III, and some of its board members, said in an email shared with The State that he and his clients are “totally confounded by the different directions sought by the delegation to have this matter ‘investigated.’”
Cromer wrote that he preferred to see SLED or the Attorney General’s office look into the commission.
“If Mr. Brown and the others mentioned in the lawsuit are guilty of the alleged violations, they should immediately be placed on leave and removed from office,” Cromer wrote. “On the other hand, if Mr. Brown is innocent of all of the charges, there should be a swift investigation with a favorable outcome to him.”
Reach Ellis at (803) 771-8307.
This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "SLED is 3rd agency asked to investigate Recreation Commission."