From Irish Travelers to Hebrew Boys, top FBI agent nailed SC villains and fraudsters

He helped nail the Hebrew Boys whose Ponzi scheme cheated 7,000 investors out of $82 million. He helped put a corrupt Williamsburg County sheriff in prison. More recently, he helped get 52 Irish Travelers to plead guilty to various frauds

And in what a judge called the most shocking case she ever had heard, FBI special agent Ron Grosse of South Carolina cracked a cold-blooded scheme whereby a man cut off the hand of a mentally handicapped friend, made it look like a yard accident and collected $671,000 in insurance money.

On Thursday, in a surprise ceremony, Gov. Henry McMaster presented Grosse, 58, with the Order of the Palmetto, for, the governor said, spending his “professional life making South Carolina a safer and better place to live.”

The award is the state’s highest civilian honor.

“We have a lot of good law enforcement agents in South Carolina,” said McMaster to about 20 of Grosse’s colleagues. “But you are regarded as one of a few” exceptional agents.

Those who know Grosse say he wins people over with kindness and common sense. His work ethic includes coming into the office on weekends and paying close attention to detail — an attribute essential for financial crimes.

During a 28-year career in South Carolina, Grosse helped secure more than 250 convictions and some $300 million in court-ordered restitution, McMaster said.

In brief remarks, Grosse, a Maryland native, thanked his mentors, colleagues, federal prosecutors and his family for making his work possible.

“I’m completely unworthy, and I was completely shocked!” Grosse told the group.

“We’re not taking it back,” quipped McMaster of the award.

Over the years, Grosse also volunteered for high-profile, out-of-state cases where the FBI needed more agents. He helped investigate the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta and the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. He also was part of the effort to recover evidence and human remains after 9/11 at the Fresh Kills Landfill in New York.

Sometimes, Grosse’s investigations took years. But not all of his investigations put people in prison. Now and then, his work cleared people.

In one investigation, Grosse wrote the subject’s deed may have been “immoral.” But, he added, “It didn’t appear to be illegal.”

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 5:06 PM.