Three lawmakers in South Carolina’s third largest city have been charged with bribery and kickbacks
Three members of the City Council in South Carolina’s third largest city received kickbacks and bribes to donate grants and re-dividing land or lying to what they know, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
The FBI and state officials conducted a one-year investigation into North Charleston Councilman Jerome Heyward, Sandino Moses and Mike A.
Heyward received $40,000 in kickbacks from two nonprofits in exchange for a $1.3 million grant to them in a fight against gun violence in North Charleston, court documents show.
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Heyward and Brown are part of a marine manufacturer’s program that can be re-registered on the Ashley River in North Charleston, once a hospital and then sold to ship manufacturers at that fertilizer factory. The company proposed to build a park, but also hoped to build a factory on site.
Prosecutors said lawmakers accepted bribes to try to zoning by rezoning, and by then the FBI was listening to Hayward’s call, grabbing Brown saying he was angry because it took him too long to make money because he needed to pay for his son’s wedding.
Repartition plan was rejected.
Moses also paid for rezoning. He returned it, but he lied about the offer and what he knew about fellow parliamentarians.
Heyward is charged with blackmail, bribery and wire fraud. Brown was charged with bribery and wire fraud, and Moses was charged with lying to federal investigators.
Heyward and Moses plan to plead guilty to their charges Friday, said attorneys representing Brook Andrews, South Carolina, in the United States.
Heyward’s attorneys did not comment on Wednesday. Other lawmakers and their attorneys did not respond immediately. North Charleston officials said Hayward and Moses had resigned.
“In this case, the allegations describe a profound betrayal of trust,” Andrews said in a press conference. “These council members use their positions not to serve the community, but to enrich their services.”
North Charleston is the third largest city in South Carolina, with about 125,000 people. Mayor Reggie Burgess thanked the FBI and state investigators for their work to ensure residents remain certain about the city. He said the city cooperates completely with the survey.
“Transparency and accountability remain core principles for this administration and we welcome this review as a necessary step in upholding these standards,” Burgess said.
