V Is For Vendetta

We’re trying really hard at this point to figure out what S.C. Senator Phil McCrevice Leventis is thinking …

Seriously, his three year-long (and counting) vendetta against the S.C. Department of Corrections has yielded absolutely nothing.  Well, unless you count a series of fruitless Senate hearings, a legislative audit that essentially gave the Department a clean bill of health and, most recently, a SLED investigation into Leventis himself that seeks to determine whether or not the Senator broke the law in pursuing vengeance against the agency and its director, Jon Ozmint.

Which brings us to the motivation at the center of all of this – Leventis’ desire to avenge the firing of his neighbor (and campaign staffer) whose employment with the Department was terminated after she used racial slurs and refused to provide medical treatment to black Corrections officers.

A real peach of a gal, right?

Anyway, you can read more about this ongoing drama here, here and here, but the bottom line is that Leventis is nuts … although his vendetta is typical of the abuse of power and petty vindictiveness that transpires everyday in South Carolina thanks to our seemingly endless supply of elected officials with axes to grind, egos to massage and taxpayer resources to waste.

Of course, Leventis’ vendetta is notable in that it’s still going …

Sources tell FITS that Leventis is now pouring through case files of anyone who has ever sued the Department of Corrections in an effort to dig up whatever dirt he can on the agency.

And while you’d think this might be fertile ground for Leventis’ vendetta, you’d be surprised.

According to emails obtained by FITS, attorneys for at least one of the litigants that he’s contacted in his excavation efforts are actually blowing the whistle on Leventis, not the Department of Corrections.

And remember, these are people who either have sued or are suing the Department.

“(Attorney for litigant) received a phone call from Senator Phil Leventis,”  one of the emails reads.  “Leventis seemed to be trying to get some dirt on (Ozmint)/SCDC that would be useful for his cause.  After (attorney) said that his client … didn’t have any bad feelings, Leventis ended the conversation.”

Wow …

Leventis should be ashamed of himself – particularly if he’s still using taxpayer resources to advance this sham of an investigation.

We need our elected officials to spend their time investigating the legitimate evils of state government (which are legion), not protecting racists.

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