McBee’s story spans 16 lawsuits and investigations by five state and federal agencies. It’s a case study of how communities lose faith in institutions and how their public life frays once they do.
Flying down zip lines. Tens of thousands of dollars in hotel bills at luxurious resorts. Thousands of dollars in Clemson football tickets. These are some of the perks South Carolina’s public servants lavished on themselves when nobody was watching.
Sheriff Anthony Russell asked the State Law Enforcement Division to audit his department in January 2023 after discovering its inventory didn't match the invoices it had paid.
The sheriff's letter indicates that law enforcement had taken an interest in Hampton County’s financial mess earlier — and their concerns ran deeper — than previously known.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating potential criminal misconduct in Hampton County government, authorities said.
Members of the Hampton County legislative delegation told the governor they were “exceedingly concerned” about the county’s financial situation.
The S.C. Department of Revenue did not take notice of the county's missing spending reports, even as it blew through more than 30 deadlines.
Investigators have spent untold hours in Hampton unwinding Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes. A group of locals wishes they would take a look at county government, too.
McBee’s story spans 16 lawsuits and investigations by five state and federal agencies. It’s a case study of how communities lose faith in institutions and how their public life frays once they do.
Latarcha K. Wilson, who held the rank of captain, resigned her position four days after the June 3 traffic stop. The incident only recently came to light. Wilson had worked for the detention center for 17 years, state documents show.
The project produced more than 70 stories to date, spawning reform initiatives and at least 10 state investigations and audits in the process.
Summerton has a difficult task ahead: to convince residents that the water is OK.
Alpha Genesis Inc., a company that breeds thousands of monkeys in Yemassee for research, recently landed a new federal contract to run another large monkey colony on Morgan Island in the ACE Basin.
A SLED investigation found S.C. State University's police department made missteps in an investigation into the death of Amya Carr last spring, but that its probe found no evidence of foul play.
Linda Short, a longtime board member with the Chester County Natural Gas Authority, had agency workers install gas appliances at her new home in Columbia, appliances she also nabbed at prices typically unavailable to the public, an Uncovered investigation revealed. It's yet another example of how officials at these loosely scrutinized agencies gain perks from their public positions.
Michael Bartley’s hiring in the coroner's office comes amid lingering questions in the death this year of a South Carolina State student — a case Bartley worked on, according to the student’s family. The 2013 federal conviction could make it difficult for him to testify in court as it goes directly to his credibility, one legal expert said.
Richland One School District has flunked a state inspection of its employee spending, confirming concerns raised months ago by parents and district watchdogs that the Columbia-area school system has long downplayed.
After a handful of inspections found little evidence of mold in just a few rooms at Lander University’s Chipley Hall, a full building inspection turned up 46 instances.
Students at the University of South Carolina logged more than 800 reports about mold in their dorms during the past two years, but the university has a flawed system of identifying mold cases and trends, an Uncovered report found.
Clemson University faced 321 reports or responses to mold issues in university housing over the course of two school years. In most cases, the university blamed students for thermostat adjustments or poor housekeeping.
The sudden death earlier this year of Amya Carr, co-captain of South Carolina State University's dance team, spawned a still-unfinished state investigation while continuing to raise questions about whether authorities properly looked into what happened.
More than 220 students reported mold in Coastal Carolina’s residential living spaces since 2020, according to university records obtained by The Post & Courier Uncovered collaboration.
From Winthrop University to Coastal Carolina, mold reports plague universities across South Carolina. Here's a rundown of issues at some of the state's colleges.
South Carolina college students reported more than 2,400 mold cases during the past two years, often citing allergy flare-ups and other symptoms while desperately pleading with housing officials to do something. Housing officials, meanwhile, tend to downplay concerns. The University of South Carolina had the most complaints and also lacked an efficient system to track mold outbreaks, a new Uncovered investigation found.
Richland One School District officials were not cooperative with Columbia police and SLED agents as they tried to investigate tens of thousands of dollars in misspending by a district employee, Travis Braddy, earlier this year, a state prosecutor said in court Oct. 13.
A former Richland One School District purchasing official, Travis Antonio Braddy, has been indicted on charges he misspent tens of thousands of public dollars on himself, including by abusing district purchase cards.
State officials identified new unauthorized purchases at John de la Howe School for Agriculture in McCormick County, continuing a pattern of questionable practices at the public boarding school.
Charleston’s state-funded tourism marketing group stowed nearly $2 million in public money in an offshore account on an island nation known for banking secrecy long favored by tax dodgers and money launderers. Their CEO says the use of the account was completely above board.
Greenville state Sen. Karl Allen has been sued by a charity whose earmark funding was withheld for months.
Attorney General Alan Wilson is calling for an investigation of alleged misspending in Richland One School District's P-card program. He hinted his own office could pursue legal action against the state’s ninth-largest school system.
Federal Judge Michelle Childs on July 11 sentenced ex-Chester County Sheriff Alex “Big A” Underwood, 59, to 46 months in federal prison in connection with his April 2021 conviction on corruption, fraud and abuse of power charges.
State Sen. Karl Allen's mysterious habit of withholding state grants owed to charities in his Greenville district is more extensive than previously known, amounting to nearly a dozen checks worth a combined $613,000.
York County Natural Gas Authority, a public agency highlighted in The Post and Courier's Uncovered project, tightened travel restrictions in the wake of reports that board members and staff jetted off to far-flung locales where they and their spouses dined at pricey restaurants, flew down zip lines and took glass-blowing lessons — all on the ratepayers' tab.
The vote comes two months after The Post and Courier reported that SLED doesn’t employ a single white-collar crimes investigator, a void that has hamstrung the agency’s ability to bring cases against crooked politicians and public officials.
With time running out, S.C. lawmakers say they remain committed to cracking down on free-spending special government districts and giving the state's top law enforcement agency the money it needs to investigate public corruption.
A Post and Courier-led Uncovered investigation into local government waste and misconduct has spurred agencies to reconsider their spending practices as South Carolina's governor and lawmakers call for heightened scrutiny.
Stirred by revelations that a broken system of oversight paved the way for corruption and other abuses, Upstate lawmakers say they will call for more scrutiny of South Carolina's hundreds of special government districts.
The utility will lose its $5,000 deposit for Grove Park Inn, but it avoids spending nearly three times that amount on a trip that drew public criticism.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and at least four lawmakers are calling for more scrutiny and fewer ethics loopholes for the state's many special purpose districts in the wake of a Post and Courier report that painted a portrait of free-spending agencies with little oversight.
State officials identified new unauthorized purchases at John de la Howe School for Agriculture in McCormick County, continuing a pattern of questionable practices at the public boarding school.
Lingering questions haunt South Carolina's newest governor's school, the sprawling John de la Howe School for Agriculture near Lake Thurmond.
Top John de la Howe officials, including the school’s president, used private email accounts as they planned to retaliate against a whistleblower and hid other key decisions during the state agriculture school's infancy, a new Uncovered investigation found.
New lawsuit by ex-Governor's School employee claims school officials retaliated after he spoke out about corruption.
A single sheet of paper contains four typed statements — each signed by a different employee — detailing concerns about how Frank Dorn managed workers and handled animals at the state's fledgling governor's school.
Some South Carolina lawmakers said they were shocked about revelations in Uncovered report that exposed questionable spending and bidding practices as the S.C. Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe.
Leaders of the S.C. Governor's School of Agriculture at John de la Howe met behind closed doors for nearly three hours April 27 in the wake of a Post and Courier Uncovered report about questionable spending and bidding practices. When they emerged, they said they'd done everything above board even as they said they weren't aware of an official's business ties to a contractor that won work at the school.
The State Law Enforcement Division has launched an investigation into the finances of the City of Chester, following an initial inquiry and the suspension of the three police officers, the News & Reporter revealed on Feb. 23.
Corruption has flourished in South Carolina as newspapers close and shrink, creating news deserts and ghost papers across the Palmetto State. It’s part of a national trend that has deprived hundreds of communities of a vital watchdog of taxpayer dollars and democracy.
The Post and Courier’s latest project, “Uncovered,” aims to fill some of that void, particularly in small towns where officials receive less scrutiny.
We will partner with small, community newspapers or news organizations to investigate potential abuses of power, misuse of taxpayer dollars and reports of misconduct. We have a team of six reporters dedicated to working with community journalists on this task.
We will publish those stories in tandem with our community partners so that information can reach the widest possible audience. All of these stories will be available to our readers and theirs without a subscription.
Our aim is to shine the brightest light possible on conduct that is holding our state back, benefitting the few at the expense of the many. News organizations interested in teaming up with us on this journey should contact Watchdog and Public Service Editor Glenn Smith at gsmith@postandcourier.com.
Our Partners For “Uncovered”, The Post and Courier is proud to partner with The Anderson Observer, The (Barnwell) People-Sentinel, The (Chester) News & Reporter, The (Orangeburg) Times and Democrat, The (Greenwood) Index-Journal, Aiken Standard, The Kingstree News, The Newberry Observer, Lancaster News, The Easley Sentinel-Progress, The Independent Voice of Blythewood and Fairfield, Pickens County Courier, Latino Newspaper, The Sumter Item, The Laurens County Advertiser, The Charleston Chronicle, The Gaffney Ledger and the Pageland Progressive Journal.
The Post and Courier has developed this citizens toolbox for using the Freedom of Information Act to access public records in South Carolina. Read moreCitizens toolbox for obtaining public records in South Carolina
Our new project "Uncovered" seeks to expose government misdeeds across the state and especially in small towns. Have you witnessed abuses of power? We want to hear from you.
Shane Stuart's tenure as Chester County's top elected official was fraught with allegations of improper spending and misuse of his powerful position even before the county supervisor was indicted last month on charges of manufacturing and trafficking meth.
Newspaper editors and First Amendment lawyers say they have seen a surge of exorbitant FOIA costs, especially from local police agencies, school boards and city and county councils.
Charleston County suspended Master-in-Equity Mikell Scarborough's spending card and launched an internal review after inquiries from The Post and Courier.
A Columbia councilwoman netted tens of thousands in public money for legal work on bond contracts from the school board her husband chairs.
Magistrate Angel Underwood was reappointed to the bench, despite a suspension. Complaints say her ethical conflicts have only continued.
In the magistrate courts of South Carolina, citizens often must fend for themselves before judges lacking formal training in the law and whose errors can result in punishing consequences for defendants.
Colleton County Sheriff Andy Strickland used county tax dollars for a $1,500 Myrtle Beach hotel charge this summer for what he said was a separate room for his children during a sheriffs conference.
The former CFO of the Berkley County School District, was sentenced to 11 years in state prison Friday after pleading guilty to 37 counts relating to embezzlement that has been described as possibly the largest public embezzlement scheme in South Carolina.
Ethics complaints against the state’s circuit judges are buried in an opaque system that shields the accused.
South Carolina sheriffs dipped into public money to pay for luxury accommodations and broke laws they swore to uphold, a Post and Courier investigation found.
A South Carolina prosecutor’s office racked up thousands of dollars in charges on these items and other perks — on the taxpayers' dime, newly released records show.
An investigation into corruption at the Statehouse has taken aim at South Carolina’s command-and-control center – a network of power brokers and lawmakers who, if the allegations are true, milked the system of hundreds of thousands of dollars by skirting the state’s loose ethic laws.
