Richland councilwoman accused of corruption as prosecutor criticizes county spending
Richland County Council member Dalhi Myers used taxpayer money for personal travel to Greece and other places, a resort hotel stay in Nashville, and “premium chocolates” and other personal items, according to an indictment from the state grand jury.
The grand jury indicted Myers on 24 charges that include misconduct in office, use of official position for personal gain, embezzlement, writing a fraudulent check, and use of campaign funds for personal expenses. Most of the indictments allege she used county taxpayer money for personal use.
If convicted on all charges, she could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
In a bond hearing for Myers on Friday morning, a prosecutor for the state attorney general’s office criticized Richland County overall, saying it “tolerates” many questionable spending decisions. Its council members “function almost like medieval lords in a fiefdom system,” said attorney Creighton Waters.
A spokesman for the state Attorney General’s office said he did not know of any other indictments.
Myers’ indictments follow an investigation by The State Media Co. earlier this year that revealed the potential misuse of county credit card funds, including Myers spending thousands on a trip to Greece, department stores and at Barnes & Noble Booksellers.
When the newspaper initially submitted a request for the spending records, Myers attempted to repay the county for the expenses by writing a $27,000 check. One of the indictments issued this week allege she wrote the check even though she didn’t have that much money in her account.
In Friday’s bond hearing, Waters said the check bounced twice.
The grand jury indicted Myers on 10 counts of embezzlement of county funds, 10 counts of using her position for personal gain, two counts of misconduct in office, one count of using campaign funds for personal expenses and one count of writing a fraudulent check.
The majority of the charges come from trips Myers took between 2018 and 2019 using a county credit card, according to the indictment.
In February 2019, she used her county credit card for a week-long personal trip to Greece, the indictment said. She paid for a plane ticket, hotels, restaurant bills and other purchases with taxpayer money.
She also used the county card for a two-night stay in the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, according to the indictment. At the hotel, a basic one person room goes for about $330 a night, its website said.
She also used county money for trips to Detroit, Georgia and Illinois, according to the indictment. For the Illinois trip, she purchased plane tickets for her family. While traveling to Georgia, she bought a tire with taxpayer money.
She made personal purchases at the expense of taxpayers outside of travel as well, the grand jury said.
She bought items from Staples and Sam’s Club, including clothing, gift cards and food, according to the indictment. At the Barnes & Nobles book store, she picked up a membership and “premium chocolates” on the county credit card.
She paid her cell phone bill using public money between June and August 2018, the indictment said. Then in September 2018 she used tax money to have her phone repaired.
Myers also lied when explaining the purchases to the county, the indictment said. None of the expenditures were for any “legitimate government business.”
Myers used campaign funds for personal expenses in 2013 when she paid a bill to a law firm, according to the indictment.
FIRST HEARING
Myers appeared in a Richland County courtroom on Columbia’s Main Street Friday for a bond hearing.
In the court room, Waters gave more details to some of the charges against Myers.
For her trip to Greece, she flew through Newark, New Jersey, “so she could stalk Magic Johnson and Richard Seymour,” Waters said. Johnson is a retired NBA all-star and Seymour, a Lower Richland High School graduate, played for the NFL’s New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders.
She bought a book about the popular video game Fortnite for her children’s reading room with her county credit card, Waters told the court.
When Myers tried to pay the county back for the $27,000 in expenses, her check “bounced as high as a ball can bounce,” Waters said. “There was no prospect of $27,000 being there.”
Waters said more charges against Myers may be coming.
Myers was represented by attorney Deborah Barbier.
Barbier told Judge DeAndrea Benjamin that Myers is a long-time Richland County resident who is active in her community and poses no flight risk.
Benjamin gave Myers a personal recognizance bond, meaning she would not have to pay any money to stay out of jail while her case moves through the court. However, if she misses court dates, she will be stuck with a $100,000 fine.
Benjamin ordered that Myers not have any contact with county employees except for an emergency.
Myers was taken from the court to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center to be photographed and fingerprinted.
Shortly after the hearing, Gov. Henry McMaster suspended Myers from office. He appointed Cheryl D. English to replace Myers.
English beat Myers in the June Democratic primary and won election to represent District 10 in November.
Because Myers was leaving office in January, her suspension is of little consequence.
Myers, a lawyer, represented a district that includes much of Lower Richland and areas in northeast Columbia. Myers is the second consecutive council member to be removed from the District 10 seat after a criminal indictment.
In 2016, Kelvin Washington was removed from the seat by Gov. Nikki Haley after he was convicted of failing to file state income tax returns for three years. Myers was elected to replace Washington.
WHAT DOES COUNCIL SAY?
Other Richland County Council members stayed mostly quiet about Myers’ indictment and accusations about spending from the state attorney general’s office.
But several commented on the county’s p-card system, which is essentially a county credit card that draws from public money. Under the system, each county council member can spend up to $19,000 a year on training, travel and other discretionary spending,.
The State has reported on the p-card system twice in the last two years. The reporting showed Gwen Kennedy spent thousands on food and gasoline. She also said she has used the card for personal expenses by mistake before refunding them.
Former councilman Norman Jackson also sought duplicate reimbursements for several meals he charged to his p-card. Councilman Jim Manning spent $300 on a membership to Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens and another $100 on a membership at the Township Auditorium.
County Administrator Leonardo Brown said earlier this year that no council members were known to have purposely misused their card. But his office did not oversee council members’ spending as it does county employees.
In October, the council council attempted to rein in p-card spending. A proposal that would have limited how members can use the card died in committee, meaning council was never able to enact the restrictions.
Myers is on the the committee that dropped the proposal.
The proposed changes would have required members to check out a p-card instead of having one with them all the time, Manning told The State. Members would have to explain why they were checking out the card and then provide receipts for their spending.
Manning said he would have voted for the restrictions on the card had it come before the full council.
“That was pretty much a no-brainer to me,” Manning said.
Manning said it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment on Myers’ indictment because of pending legal matters associated with Richland County. Councilwoman Allison Terracio also declined to comment.
Council Chairman Paul Livingston likewise declined to comment on specific charges against Myers. He said that while council members must use the cards responsibly, he believes they are useful when used for expenses council members take on in the course of their public duties.
“If council members had to spend their own money on everything, only wealthy folks would be able to serve,” Livingston said.
County records show Livingston is one of the most sparing users of the p-card currently on council, primarily using it for travel or office-related expenses. Livingston said he could have used the card more, but consciously tries to avoid making charges to it.
“I could certainly get mileage for the last 30 years I’ve been on council,” Livingston said. “It shouldn’t cost you to serve, but it has ended up costing me.”
The State reach out to other council members but could did not receive a response.
Another proposal to cut back on the amount of discretionary spending money that each council member get also never made it to a council vote, Manning said.
Another proposal would have cut the amount of money council members can spend each year to $10,000, but it also died.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 8:59 AM.