Widening Corruption Scandal Adds to Union County's Woes

In one of his live reports tonight from in front of the federal courthouse in Greenville, News Channel 7's Chris Cato called this "a dark day for Union County."

Union County has seen more than its share of dark days over the past two years.

Corruption and unemployment have made for hard times.

Federal indictments revealed today accuse top current and former county officials of a wide range of corruption charges.

County Supervisor Donnie Betenbaugh is accused of conspiracy, soliciting bribes, extortion, distributing prescription drugs, and allowing cocaine and hydrocodone to be stored in the county tax assessor's office.

Willie Randall, Junior, the former county tax assessor, faces charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. He is also accused of using his county office as a drug "stash house." He is charged along with Lapriest Beacham.

Howard Wells, the county's former sheriff who rose to national fame during the Susan Smith case 15 years ago, is charged with lying to investigators, witness tampering, and he's under investigation for hiding taxable income.

And Union County resident Willard Farr is accused of helping former Union Mayor Bruce Morgan and former building and zoning director Jeff Lawson extort money (kickbacks) from contractors hoping to get city work contracts.

We got our first look at the seriousness of corruption in Union when Morgan and Lawson were indicted last year.

They're hearing news of today's indictments from their federal prison cells. Morgan is imprisoned in Edgefield, S.C., serving 71 months. Lawson is in a federal prison in Kentucky. His sentence is 12 months and one day.

Former News Channel 7 employee and then-Union City Councilmember Harold Thompson succeeded Morgan as mayor.

Thompson told us he felt "shock and disbelief" at today's indictments. He said Wells is a man he respected. He said the allegations against Betenbaugh left him speechless.

Thompson told News Channel 7's Carmen Coursey that all elected officials in the area need to focus on the work that needs to be done and let their actions regain the confidence of the people: "We in these positions, we have to be straightforward and do what's right. A lot of times there's a lot of pressure out there, and people will try to mislead you into doing something other than what's right. But you stick to you guns, take your time, move forward and everything will be alright."

Union County didn't need another step backward.

The county's unemployment rate was 20.8% in August after hitting 20.9% in July.

It is the fourth-highest unemployment rate in South Carolina (only one-tenth of a percent behind third-highest Marion County) and the worst in the Upstate by several points.

Look at unemployment in Union County this way. According to the Employment Security Commission, the county had a labor force of 12,406 in August. Of that number, 2,586 people had no job. That translates into a jobless rate of 20.8%, approximately one out of every five workers unable to find a job.

The corruption scandal makes Union County's economic recovery even harder. In the ultra-competitive race for jobs, Union County has an anvil on its back.

And I truly feel for the people of Union, who are as honest, good and hard-working as any you'll find. They don't deserve being saddled with this controversy.

The greed of few will hurt many.