By FITSNews || As amateur investigative journalists with a righteous hard-on for exposing bureaucratic corruption, you’ll never hear us belittle someone who is busting bureaucrats for taxpayer-funded fraud.
Well … that’s not completely true.
You will hear us belittling them if the reporter is John Monk of La Socialista – a.k.a. The State newspaper – a pompous has-been who is apparently wrapping up the back nine of his career.
Back in “the day,” Monk was a crusading investigative reporter who actually took on serious issues – like the millions of tax dollars that state lawmakers funneled to the restoration of Senate President Glenn McConnell’s phavorite phallic obsession, the H.L. Huney Confederate submarine. Monk was also a hybrid “news columnist” (whatever that means) who successfully crusaded for ‘well-intentioned” ideas like primary seat belt enforcement.
In fact, in the early part of this decade Monk was among the most feared journalists in the state (you know … back when newspapers still mattered).
What’s he up to now?
Here’s his latest “scoop,” courtesy of the rag that for some reason still employs him:
The FBI and federal housing authorities are looking into whether the Columbia Housing Authority bought a house from a high-ranking city of Columbia official at an inflated price.
The sale could be a conflict of interest because of who was involved. The city official, Tony Lawton, 38, is the $108,492-a-year director of Columbia’s community development office, which directs hundreds of thousands of federal dollars each year to the Housing Authority.
The sale also might have run afoul of the law, if Lawton or Housing Authority officials knew the purchase price was inflated, allowing Lawton to make more money on the sale.
Ummm … okay. Sure … we guess it’s a story … but …
How the mighty have fallen, people … how the mighty have fallen.
It’s sad, really. Interestingly enough, our founding editor called Monk over a year ago after we had uncovered some new information related the H.L. Hunley project. We figured that since he was the reporter who broke the story so many years ago that he might be interested in what we had learned.
To our surprise, Monk refused to discuss the information with Sic. Instead, he launched into a tirade about the disservice we were doing to journalism as well as the political process in South Carolina. It was bad, people … he totally lost control of his emotions and was literally screaming over the phone.
Needless to say, Sic ended the conversation and hasn’t called him back since … which judging from the lack of scoop Monk is getting appears to be a fairly common occurrence these days.
By Guero May 3, 2010 at 4:01 pm
John Monk thinks you’re a POS. He’s proven himself to be a damned good journalist. Is there a question here?
By You Said What? May 3, 2010 at 8:25 pm
John Monk and Sammy “give me an award” Fretwell are typical of what’s wrong with the State now. They don’t give a crap about honest reporting…they’re just doing the bidding of those pulling their strings and wouldn’t know an honest presentation of the facts if it bit them in their asses. We’ll all be a lot better off when they and that rag are gone and someone with real ability to provide who, what, where, why, when and how.
By Todd May 3, 2010 at 9:00 pm
This is funny. The word among the low rents is that Toal planted a lot of the story with Monk. McConnell find out and called a truce with Toal. Monk was caught in the middle. Warthen, of course, as you showed in a story a couple of days ago, fell to his knees praising Toal. Part of the truce was that The State would no longer be involved in the McConnell – Toal power struggle.
By theoriginaljustme May 3, 2010 at 9:12 pm
John Monk is a good reporter. Will, as much as I love you, I think it’s time to lay off the anti-establishment-media soapbox – and it’s especially not ok to attack John Monk.
By L.K.P. May 3, 2010 at 9:57 pm
I’ve known Monk well and favorably for years. He works on investigative stories for literally months (like 6 to 9 months) vetting his facts.
But I’m with you, Sic Wilie, the Clemson-Hunley “back-door money” (buried in Clemson’s budget) is news.
John chooses not to follow up on this scam.
Gene Troutwell has documented this scam well in his lawsuit, which you have covered more thoroughly than John (or anyone else) has.
Curious.
Note to John’s Managing Editor: Are you listening? The Post and Courier (friendly to McConnell), will never publish the facts that you, Sic Willie, have published about the Clemson-Hunley slush fund.
John, tell your editors to turn you loose on the Clemson scam, particularly in light of today’s news that 4,000 elementary and high-school teachers statewide will be terminated for the upcoming school year.
By Jeffy01 May 4, 2010 at 12:00 pm
another sad alumni of the pathetic paper. Bolton will join them soon. He will be a special investigator for sue berkobitch