Tumpy And The Injuns

Carroll A. “Tumpy” Campbell III, son of one of South Carolina’s most beloved governors, is dealing with another round of bad press after Tim Smith of the Greenville News ran a cover story over the weekend rehashing Campbell’s close association with the Catawba Indian Nation and that group’s efforts to expand Internet gambling in South Carolina.

Specifically, the Greenville News‘ report states that Campbell was named by federal defendant David “Terry” Collier as one of two Palmetto political consultants who were involved in a scheme to funnel campaign contributions from the Catawba tribe to South Carolina politicians in violation of federal law.

From the story:

Collier went on to allege in the pre-sentencing brief filed in January that “a number of the reimbursements for contributions to candidates for federal office were made to one of the political consultants mentioned above, the son of the former governor who was employed by Mr. Collier’s company to lead the political efforts. This individual clearly knew that he was being reimbursed for his political contributions to federal candidates.”

Campbell said he was the son of the governor referred to by Collier in the documents but said he did nothing wrong.

According to investigators, the contributions had to be funneled “because the cause of expanded Indian gambling rights was controversial in South Carolina,” and because doing so enabled gambling advocates to “avoid the limits on maximum individual contributions allowed by law to any federal candidate or his or her authorized political committees per election.”

Both Collier and Robert Price III, who pled guilty in August 2007 to violating federal election law, claim that Campbell and another Republican political consultant were the “principal original advocates” of the fundraising scheme.

Campbell, who is widely regarded in Palmetto political circles as an ignorant, arrogant hothead living off of his father’s name and reputation, was removed from his position on the State Ports Authority board in January after he attempted to conceal his lobbying activities.

State law prohibits lobbyists from serving on boards and commissions, a fact which Campbell attempted to evade by claiming he merely owned a lobbying firm, and that his perpetual presence at the S.C. State House wasn’t really “lobbying.”

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