S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Reggie Lloyd has clearly bitten off more Charleston Post and Courier than he can chew, as the Palmetto State’s top cop now finds himself in the middle of an unfortunate exchange with the paper that highlights once again the utter senselessness of picking a fight with “somebody who buys their ink by the barrel.”
What happened?
You can read up on the details here, but it’s basically the newspaper smashing the ever-living crap out of a king-sized softball that Lloyd served up to them by allegedly refusing to release some of his agency’s budget information … and then getting snippy about it.
We don’t know the whole story of what transpired here, but the long and short of it is that Lloyd is now taking it squarely where the sun don’t shine, which is exactly as it should be if he is indeed not being truthful or forthcoming with members of the press.
Having said that, we can certainly understand how the SLED Chief might be a bit agitated at the moment. After all, S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster put him in a no-win situation by ducking his responsibility as an independently elected statewide officer and asking Lloyd – a member of Gov. Mark Sanford’s Cabinet – to investigate the man he works for and is charged with protecting.
Of course, McMaster’s “dick move” was nothing compared to the spot Sanford put Lloyd in by ditching his security detail to run off with his Argentinian lover Maria Belen Chapur – and then lying about his whereabouts.
In other words, Lloyd got thrown under the bus – and then backed over.
On top of all that, Lloyd was already fighting hard to reform an agency that many say is one of the most corrupt in all of state government. Certainly the rumors of SLED employing secretive goon squads to either protect (or intimidate) South Carolinians are by now a part of Palmetto political legend, and Lloyd has had to deal with numerous other internal issues since taking over the agency from former Chief Robert Stewart.
None of that, mind you, is an excuse for stonewalling the press. Nor does Lloyd’s spotless record and huge reservoir of credibility cut him any slack on this issue as far as we are concerned.
Whatever the particulars are, Lloyd needs to put this right – and do so immediately if not sooner. Otherwise, as the Post and Courier capably demonstrated Thursday morning, the paper is going to continue bleeding him in ink department.
Incidentally, did anybody catch the most ironic part of this story?
S.C. Senate President Glenn McConnell and S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell claiming to be advocates of government transparency.
Yeah, right!
These two have done more to keep government secret than any two politicians in this state. What a joke!
By Clarence August 6, 2009 at 2:35 pm
By all accounts Lloyd is a good guy. But he has let us down on this one.
He probably thinks he can reform that bunch of thugs (with badges) at SLED all by himself. But he can’t. Unless it is public, and severe…and ugly, he will never reform them. The long time government employee and their culture will win everytime. Especially when they hide behind the cover of a badge.
Mr. Lloyd, change must be drastic and fast or it will not happen. So make your choice…
By Recovering Lobbyist August 6, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Note to self: never take a job in government unless you just want to play thumbs with the media.
By Philip Branton August 6, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Sic……
Where is THE STATE……
Where is the Beaufort Gazette…..
Where is the Greenville News…
Where is the Spartanburg-Herald…..
Where is the Sun News……
Where is the freakin’ ….TIMES and DEMOCRAT…????
The Editors across our state….are the freakin …PROBLEM !!!!
SIC……GO gettem’…….!!!!!
WHAT political mis-direction is being played here…!!!!??
Reggie is under more than ONE thumb…..and this is a signal to WHO..??
By Not Sayin', Just Sayin' August 6, 2009 at 2:45 pm
His boss is a liar, he’s a liar. This is administration is disgusting. Worse that others? Maybe not, but Sanford sold himself as a reformer. This isn’t reform. Lloyd should step down.
By Huhhh??? August 6, 2009 at 3:12 pm
spotless record??? when you haven’t held any job (per the resume published when he was picked for SLED) longer than 3 years, even self-employment, looks like he runs before the dung hits the fan.
Veeerrry interesting, Fitsnews. How much crime did Reggie cover up for the Republic Party when he was US Atty, besides letting Ravenel’s Italian co-conspirator flee the country? Dear editor, bet YOU were one of Thomas’ frequent, frequent unnamed-to-the-sentencing-judge Charleston guests. Was Mark there, too??
By Mushroom August 6, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Failure to turn over public documents via a FOIA request should result in immediate termination.
You have to imagine this “holier than thou” attitude permeates through the agency.
If he can stick his finger out at the press by hiding “our” public budget, then he is more than capable of supplying goon squads or tampering with evidence or any other crime.
By Commonman August 6, 2009 at 3:51 pm
A badge and a gun do not make rudeness acceptable. If you listen to the tape of the conversation between the Director and the reporter, he is a little more than snippy. Transparency in government takes another hit. Why doesn’t the Director have the budget person for SLED in on the conversation? Surely the budget man would be better able to answer these type questions than the Director. Reggie, hand the ball off to your budget man (or woman) and go fight crime. Let the Budget and Control Board Budget Division answer the questions if necessary. You are ultimately held accountable for your agency, but let the person(s) responsible for your budget take the point on this one. You are starting to look like a bully with something to hide and no one likes a bully (especially one with a badge and gun).
By CNSYD August 6, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Phillip Branton, the P&C has ignored the C Street storyline completely even when it is pointed out to them. What are they afraid of on this issue?
By Cornelius August 6, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
By Steve Smith August 6, 2009 at 5:13 pm
The attached and reported statement of “On top of all that, Lloyd was already fighting hard to reform an agency that many say is one of the most corrupt in all of state government. Certainly the rumors of SLED employing secretive goon squads to either protect (or intimidate) South Carolinians are by now a part of Palmetto political legend, and Lloyd has had to deal with numerous other internal issues since taking over the agency from former Chief Robert Stewart”, should be seen as an insult to every current or former member of SLED, and is so unfounded. Mr Folk seems to have a problem with SLED and former Chief Robert Stewart and he makes these unreal claims against Chief Stewart and the agency. I worked at SLED for 30 years and retired before Mr Folk ran into his problems with the law, but when I worked there we never had to worry about integrity or excessive spending, as Chief Stewart and his executive staff held the financial line, even during hard financial times.
I am offended that Mr Folk would use this snafu with Director Lloyd as an opportunity to trash a fine man like Robert Stewart. Please stick to the story Director Lloyd generated.
By Mab August 6, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Well-said, Commonman!
By fitsnews August 6, 2009 at 5:38 pm
WOW we got some crazy comments going on this one!
By sick of it all August 6, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Hired goons indeed…a good number of them live here in Chesterfield County, not suprisingly where Mr. Stewart was born and bred. I’ve heard Harden Swamp has been a decent dumping ground for years and jokes made in other articles about “concrete boots and the Pee Dee River”, well, they say something isn’t funny unless it’s true…
Seriously, if they dredged around these parts every CSI lab in the country would be booked for the next decade.
By Mab August 6, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Lexington County is *replete* with them, as well, sick of it all.
It is the ultimate threat over here: chains, thugs, and a body of water.
By liz shepherd August 7, 2009 at 7:14 am
IT IS ALL OVER MY SOCIAL SECURITY CASE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
By liz shepherd August 7, 2009 at 7:15 am
I told them I would take everyone of them with me through the wardrobe, down the rabbit hole and have them too open Pandora’s BOX
By liz shepherd August 7, 2009 at 7:26 am
PHILLIP- ALL of those newspapers have been taken over by the C Street Family… that’s where they are.
Joel Sawyer worked for the Spartanburg paper…. he left to spend more time with his FAMILY
COME ON YA:LL
THERE IS A BIG HUGE PROBLEM HERE
PALMETTO FAMILY COUNCIL>
COLUMBIA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
CUBBY”S TALKS
ALL C STREET FAMILY
RUN AWAY FROM DECEPTION AS FAST AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
South Carolina belongs to the C STREET RADICAL RELIGIOUS CULT
By checo August 7, 2009 at 8:00 am
you people are insane! all of you must have criminal records to have such disdain for law enforcement! you are making very serious accusations and i doubt you have any evidence\proof to corroborate them. if you do, then offer it up.
By anonymous August 7, 2009 at 9:19 am
Governor will not comment on SLED
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/aug/07/governor_will_not_comment_on_sled91727/
By Campbell L. Streater August 7, 2009 at 11:45 am
Steve Smith is right. The men and women I worked with at SLED were dedicated law enforcement professionals. Chief Stewart had a philosophy that before you could police the state of South Carolina you had to police your own back yard. He held SLED Agents and employees to a higher standard than others. He never liked firing anyone but did so because he had to protect SLED’s reputation. He often said that it not only had to be right but it also had to look right. This philosophy must have been right because a large number of police officers in the state wanted to be SLED Agents (based on applications on file at SLED).
Working at SLED (under Chief J. P. Strom and Chief Robert Stewart) was a privledge.
It is easy to make accusations against a person such as Robert Stewart or an agency such as SLED – all you have to do is be able to type. Being able to prove it is different. I have yet to see any proof and doubt that I ever will.
I personally find some of these comments offensive – not only to me but to all of the people that worked at the “old SLED” and to the men and women that are still there.
By Birdman August 7, 2009 at 11:50 am
For the FEW that write about SLED and their Goon squad I can say only thing, “you are either taking to much or to little of your medication”. Rumors are just that, a rumor. They are fueled by the fool hearted for the fool hearted.
By anonymous August 7, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Some vacation!
August 7, 2009
“Jenny Sanford moving out of governor’s mansion”
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/07/jenny-sanford-moving-out-of-governors-mansion/
Jenny to Mark, it’s been real, it’s been fun, but it hasn’t been real fun. Later dude!
By anonymous August 7, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Jenny Sanford out of gov’s mansion
“The governor’s wife played a key role throughout the scandal, taking a primary role in getting Sanford’s GOP rivals in the state Legislature to quiet calls for his resignation.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25915.html#ixzz0NW8YswdC
By anonymous August 7, 2009 at 1:14 pm
SHE IS CARRYING HER OWN BOXES OUT OF THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION!
SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE IS READY TO GET THE HECK OUT OF DODGE! WOW!
“Jenny Sanford: We’re moving out of Governor’s Mansion”
SEE FULL STORY AND PHOTO:
http://www.thestate.com/136/story/893310.html?storylink=omni_popular
By dirtbogger August 7, 2009 at 1:14 pm
If we did not have so many laws would not need so many prisions would not need so many cops would not need such a large budget, and there would be a lot less taxes.
By anonymous August 7, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Where is our Governor?
uh uh uh BEAUFORT! Surprise Surprise!
“Gov. Mark Sanford will be in Beaufort today to name the new clerk of court, , according to a news release from his office. The announcement will be made at 2 p.m. at the Beaufort County Courthouse at 102 Ribaut Road. Last week, sitting clerk Elizabeth Smith resigned after being indicted on embezzlement charges.”
http://www.islandpacket.com/1493/story/928155.html
By anonymous August 7, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Let’s not loose sight of the issue. When the DPS Patrolmen were caught on video tape, there was a chorus of demands for action. Among those who were most vocal was Senator Jake Knotts of Lexington County. When Sanford was “missing in action” Knotts was the most vocal Senator demanding answers and appearing on CNN. Now that the Director of SLED has got’em caught in the ringer, where is Senator Knotts? His silence is deafening.
Where is our Attorney General? Why isn’t he demanding answers? After all, he wants to be your next Governor. Why doesn’t he step up to the plate.
Tim James, the shortest tenured “Chief” of SLED in history, left all of a sudden for no apparent reason. Maybe he knows something we ought to know. He must have had something to do with that accounting system they were trying to put together up in Columbia.
The next time you talk to a SLED Agent ask them about how a 37 year veteran, Major Ben Thomas, was treated by Director Lloyd and his management staff. Then you will have a little better idea of the kind of thugs you are dealing with.
By Eddie Tallon August 7, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I too have something to say about the wrecklessness of Mr. Folk. You don’t have any idea as to the character of Robert Stewart and the many women and men that dedicated their life to the State of South Carolina by serving at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
I have been retired from SLED since 1991 and have know Robert Stewart since the early seventies. Even though retired from this great agency, I have continued to stay involved and informed. When Governor Campbell chose Robert Stewart to lead this organization, which had been so well run by the late Chief Strom, he made a very wise decision. A decision that proved itself for many years.
Whatever your problem is with Robert Stewart you need to get over it… He is a man of character, integrity and compassion. He has always done the right thing and dedicated his life to “protect and serve” the people of South Carolina.
I am proud to call him a friend.
By Really? August 7, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Anonymous. If you know so much about Ben Thomas,then how come you don’t know that Tim James was never the Chief of SLED.You are a dumbass..
By Willard Polk August 7, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Reggie Lloyd was predictable. According to Mr.Lloyd’s resume since graduation from law school, he had held no job for more than 3 years and none of those jobs prepared him for executive duties. He was the Governor’s choice to rid himself of Chief Stewart, a highly professional and capable executive and law enforcement officer of the highest esteem and to rid himself of other experienced and capable law enforcement professionals who he believed were threats to him.
I worked for Chief Stewart for about 18 years first as SLED’s Director of Administration and then as a Special Agent specializing in economic crime and insurance fraud investigations. While I may have had differences with the Chief from time to time, at the end of the day, I respected his conservative and professional management of a complex and difficult agency. Under his leadership, he advanced SLED to be one of the foremost law enforcement agencies in the country. I can testify first hand to Chief Stewart’s fiscal integrity and conservatism in managing the public’s money. Furthermore prior to becoming a SLED employee, I audited the agency and found that, although there were a few minor audit exceptions, for the most part, the agency has had a tradition of excellent and sound fiscal management and a strong sense of right and wrong.
For Lloyd to say there were no budgetary controls is ludricous unless this occurred during his watch. SLED is appropriated money in accordance with a budget approved and appropriated by the General Assembly. Requests for expenditures are submitted to the Comptroller General’s Office which then matches those requests to the agency’s approved budget and then the State Treasurer writes checks to pay for approved expenditures. Where is there a lack of budgetary control? While the agency has certain discretionary funds which it controls for certain investigative operations, these funds are also approved by the General Assembly. These funds were subjected to an audit at least every two years and since I audited them for many years, I can attest to the fact that the funds were expended for their intended purposes and were tightly controlled. I can’t say what happened after Lloyd’s assumption of command.
I don’t have a clue as to what is currently going on with the agency, but conversations with folks who do indicate that since Chief Stewart and other members of his senior staff have left either voluntarily or otherwise, the agency certainly is not the same well managed and respected State Law Enforcement Agency that it once was.
By Todd August 7, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Reggie Lloyd for Governor. I mean it.
By Hello August 7, 2009 at 11:39 pm
As Captain/Major Steve Smith (SLED) would say: “just do it the right way the first time, and you have nothing to worry about”. If there were such a thing as the “goon squad” at SLED, I assure you, Smith would have them all locked up. Major, how’s it go now? “Put the Right people, in the Right place, doing the Right things the Right way”. The four R’s of police work. And even if you messed up, or made a wrong decision – JUST BE HONEST!!!!
By anonymous August 8, 2009 at 9:09 am
Wasn’t there mentioned that King Reggie had hired a fellow named James who actually runs SLED. Seems like Junior King James is the one who knows where the bodies are buried. Ever wonder why taxpayers put up with a system that allows the Governor or a Board/Commission to name a Agency Head(who often can’t put their shoes on the right foot) and then allow that Agency Head to hire someone to actually do the work. Where else in World can you hire someone for $150,000 and they turn right around and hire someone for $149,999 to do their job. Seems like the smart thing to do would be to fire all Agency Heads and let the Chief Operating Officers have the jobs. Again maintain that French Revolution should be considered as a model for cleaning up State Government.
By sick of it all August 8, 2009 at 12:01 pm
To anyone who doubts that SLED has been and still is basically corrupt to the core, see the articles on this site about Chesterfield County former Solicitor Jay Hodge. No one at SLED, all these years, knew anyhing about what was going on in this county? Sure. No one in law enforcement had anything to do with the “suicide” of a certain 17-year-old in Cheraw jail? Sure. They knew that he had mental problems when they locked him up. This county never got an explanation for what really happened to that young man. A few months ago, a former Bennettsville cop pled guilty to charges of molesting young boys while he was leading a Jr. Police group 25 years ago. And all this time, SLED knew nothing? Yeah right. I know they received calls about law enforcement in this area because I made some of them. There was simply no response.
Now I don’t know about other areas in the state, but Chesterfield County is rotten to the core politically. That’s not saying everyone around here in politics is corrupt, but even those who aren’t know to keep their mouths shut. And no, I don’t have a criminal record. I have just seen a lot firsthand. SLED has not and does not serve the people of SC. They are owned by the corrupt political machine that is the SC political body. And that is fact. As far as proof and what people know, they are only going to post so much. Not joking about the Pee Dee River and concrete boots. Or worse.
By Mike August 10, 2009 at 8:13 am
Quick note on the budget stuff- most of the wacky expenditures were from holdover (“rainy-day”) funds which may be carried from one FY to the next…