Instigator Of Prisons “Witch Hunt” Under Fire

The instigator of a “witch hunt” against the S.C. Department of Corrections is now coming under intense fire himself for failing to disclose the politically-incorrect motives behind his recent all-out assault on the state agency and its director, Jon Ozmint.

S.C. Senator Phil Leventis (D-Sumter) is also facing a SLED investigation for improperly obtaining – and then publishing – information from an unreleased Legislative Audit Council (LAC) report in an effort to pursue his vendetta.

Ozmint declined to speak to FITS about the particulars of the case, referring us to public documents and citing a desire to wait until the controversial audit report was published.

According to documents and sources who spoke with FITS, however, the back story on this investigation will blow your doors off.

The three-year saga between the Senator and the Corrections director apparently began in late 2006, when Leventis was approached by two nurses at the Department of Corrections to complain about racial discrimination and other wrongdoings allegedly committed by their supervisor and one of her assistants.

Specifically, the two employees “repeatedly used the N-word” in reference to African-American inmates and, in at least one case, co-workers.

Upon learning of these accusations, Leventis replied that the supervisor in question was one of his neighbors as well as a worker on his political campaigns.  And so rather than reporting the accusations to the Department or to SLED, he allegedly informed his longtime friend of the nature of the charges – and provided the identities of the two individuals who were making the complaints.

Eventually, the accusations were reported to the Department of Corrections – which began an internal investigation in April of 2007.

“The investigation took several months and revealed violations including racial discrimination and creation of a hostile work environment,” according to a confidential Department memo obtained by FITS.

Dozens of current and former Corrections employees were interviewed during the course of the investigation, which reached several harrowing conclusions.

“The documents proved misconduct and, across racial lines, virtually all of the witnesses corroborated the complaints of discrimination,” the memo reveals. “They stated that this supervisor used racial slurs and epithets, that she belittled and harassed African-American medical staff, and that she refused to treat black officers who were injured or ill.”

Based on this investigation, both Sen. Leventis’ neighbor/ campaign worker and her subordinate were fired, but not before Leventis began a pattern of threatening behavior that has continued to this day.

After first learning of the accusations, Leventis is alleged to have placed a threatening call to his friend’s immediate supervisor at Corrections, threatening prosecution if his friend were fired.  That threat has been documented by a sworn affidavit.

After the firing, however, is when Leventis stepped up his attack.

With permission from powerful Republican Sen. Hugh Leatherman and the support of S.C. Sen. Mike Fair – who chairs the Senate Penology Committee – Leventis started a jihad against the Department that included hearings based on “allegations” provided exclusively by the two fired employees.

On top of that, he testified on behalf of the two fired employees before the state’s grievance panel and changed his Senate Finance subcommittee assignment in an effort to draft budget provisos that would adversely impact Corrections, historically one of the state’s most woefully-underfunded agencies.

Leatherman, Fair and several other Senators also joined Leventis in requesting an audit of Corrections – which is where Leventis’ jihad may have finally crossed the line from political “witch hunt” and entered the realm of illegality.

Specifically, Leventis is alleged to have had a hand in the drafting of some of the tools used by the audit, as well as guiding the direction of the report and receiving updates on its findings.  Leventis also appears to have been provided with a copy of the final report, which as of Wednesday has yet to be publicly released.

In fact, in a September 14, 2009 interview with WIS TV 10 in Columbia, Leventis basically discloses the content of the report, even prefacing his remarks by saying that “in the (audit) report it’s going to note …”

Each of the alleged instances of Leventis’ meddling – as well as the improper release of audit information – are expressly prohibited by state law.

Sources familiar with the content of the audit say that there are a few “minor issues” but that the report essentially gives Corrections “a clean bill of health.”

So … did Leventis’ personal vendetta lead to an attempt to influence the LAC report improperly, perhaps even illegally?  And did he receive a copy of its findings in advance – and then publicize those findings in violation of state law?

A source at SLED told FITS that the agency is investigating Leventis’ conduct to determine if laws were broken.

If he did, it will no doubt result in a huge scandal not only for the Senator, but also for the Legislative Audit Council – which is supposed to be one of government’s most trustworthy, reputable agencies.

This is the second time this month that the LAC has come under fire – and deservedly so.

The agency is reportedly dragging its feet on an audit of the Workers’ Compensation Commission that is critical to South Carolina’s competitiveness as a state.

What’s the hold-up?  Well, in the words of its director, the LAC is “fully staffed on other requests.”

Among those requests?  A politically-motivated travel audit requested by S.C. Senate President Glenn McConnell – one of many travel investigations stemming from the scrutiny that has followed S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford’s “Argentine Connection.”

Oh, and this Department of Corrections “witch hunt.”

Meanwhile, Leventis continues to blast Corrections on a daily basis, calling on Sanford to fire Ozmint as recently as last week.  He continues to deny that the firing of his racist campaign staffer has anything to do with his attacks.

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