STEVE BENJAMIN REPORTEDLY PLOTTING “EXIT STRATEGY”
|| By FITSNEWS || The scandals surrounding city of Columbia, S.C. mayor Steve Benjamin (a.k.a. “Mayorhood”) may finally be catching up with him.
Sources close to City Hall tell us the fiscally liberal, ethically challenged municipal leader – whose tenure has been marred from day one (literally) – is plotting an “exit strategy” from the office he has held for the past five years.
The reason?
We’re not sure yet … although Benjamin remains intimately connected to a major scandal involving a government-subsidized affordable housing boondoggle.
“Charges are coming,” one source told us, referring to that scandal.
Benjamin and since-indicted former S.C. State University trustee chairman Jonathan Pinson were key players in the Village at River’s Edge scandal – a botched housing project that received approximately $8 million in federal “stimulus” funds as well as an undisclosed amount of cash from City of Columbia, S.C. taxpayers.
Last summer, news broke about a night of debauchery in Orlando, Florida involving Benjamin and Pinson.
Remember that story? Yeah …
It involved strippers being offered to Benjamin as part of a “menu of flesh” paid for by a corrupt developer who has also since been indicted.
Benjamin’s private sector employer – the Parker Poe law firm – removed him from its website in the aftermath of those reports. We’re also told life on the home front – notably his marriage to S.C. circuit court judge DeAndrea Benjamin – went south pretty fast after those reports were published.
And of course who can forget Benjamin’s “smashing” debut as a political leader …
Hours after he was elected mayor in April 2010, a Mercedes SUV driven by Benjamin slammed into another vehicle causing extensive damage to the car and permanent damage to its driver, Deborah Rubens.
Weeks later FITS reported that multiple witnesses observed Benjamin consuming alcohol beverages well into the evening just hours before the car crash.
Astoundingly, the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) made the snap judgment that Benjamin was sober – without giving him a field sobriety test, a breathalyzer exam or even taking blood from him.
The result of a lengthy investigation into the accident? Nothing. Benjamin was cited for driving with his headlights off … that’s it.
This website has never had any use for Benjamin. He’s a thug – and he should have been locked up a long time ago. In fact his corruption is one of the main reasons we pulled our business out of Columbia, S.C. in search of a safer, more economically friendly climate.
Whatever he gets, he deserves …
65 comments
T-Bone Benji The man that used his own PD to avoid a Felony DUI charge on election night and then used politics to keep from being charged with reckless homicide. Nothing will ever stick to him.
You’re a pussy fits. I used to live around the corner from where you lived in Columbia. In no way was that a dangerous neighborhood.
Even the best neighborhoods in Columbia are no more than one to three miles from dangerous neighborhoods, and many times they are much closer than that. Some of the best ‘hoods in Columbia are easily in stray bullet territory from a errant gang banger’s 9.
Damn.We stay at the Quality Inn and hit Calloway’s Sports Bar and Grille in West Columbia on our travels.Safe?
I believe a former Gamecock owns it (family owns the Sandy Monkey on Grand Strand?). Great place.
I have friends that hang out a Calloway’s but I haven’t been there. That side is USUALLY more safe than Columbia proper. You’re not likely to get hit by stray drive by’s in Lexington County for sure.
Ya gots to head toward the lake, mi amigo! Go West, young man, go West!
I escaped years ago. Never actually lived in the city limits proper, but I’m way north north east of downtown in the neighboring county. Nothing here but trees, deer, and the occasional cow escaping from the neighbors pasture. Biggest crime in my corner of the world – hunting deer out of season.
Yep! Just ask the folks who live in Forest Hills.
Yeah, tell that to Martha…. wish to God that that beautiful girl had gone to a safer school.
Please let him take Teresa and Aubrey with him. PLEASE!
Ed “Snitch” Givens ratted him out, along with several members of the General Assembly.
Along with that wire wearing, whoremonger Lance Wright. How he got only 3 years probation and 3 months in a halfway house is fucking unbelievable. Pinson should have gotten more than 5 years.
These evolutionary throwbacks can’t even run a village of mud huts in Africa…who ever thought they could run a city? They’ve reduced Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, etc etc etc to a standard of living lower than Calcutta.
Das rayciss. Oh wait, I’m sorry, saying “das rayciss” is rayciss.
I do not consider blacks evolutionary throwbacks, however, Benjamin is a disgrace to his race.
Let’s face it, given the majority electorate inside the City of Columbia that found Honesty, Truth, Integrity, and all those laudable personal traits of a bygone era were were not high on the list of essentials requirements for someone to run their city, so they got what they deserved.
The City of Columbia is destined for many more similar to this individual to flounder, baffle, embezzle, and bullshit their way through the their mayoral tenures while the constituency smugly congratulates themselves for electing such trash.
Until all municipal, county, and school board elections across the state and across the country are scheduled with presidential federal elections when voter turnout is highest, one tiny faction or another will always control who are mayors and city and county councilmen and school board members.
Local elections are intentionally, constitutionally scheduled in ‘off years’ in many places to make them as non-partisan as possible. Last time Los Angeles elected a mayor and council in an off-year only 23% of registered voters turned out, only 9% for the school board. I wonder what Columbia’s voter turnout rate was last time? In my little town, one district last year had less than 15 voters vote when the district has about almost 1000 residents.
It’s a system that’s not working. But, we have only ourselves to blame for sitting home and not being interested in the levels of government actually closest to us.
To me, the issue of a state constitutional amendment to synch up all elections in the state with the federal would be well worth an advisory referendum, if nothing else.
Good point, not heard this concept discussed since I lived in Georgia in the seventies and eighties.
It makes all the sense in the world to declare the First Tuesday of every even-number year a “National Voting Day.”
Synchronize all local, city, county, state, and national elections for that day.
Good point is you could vote in every election with just one trip to the polls every two years.
Bad point is the political saturation from campaigning, TV, and radio commercials would be maddening.
You are right about the politicians love the current setup, low intensity, low interest, low cost, and low turn out is easier to handle for the incumbent and experienced politician.
I would like to see it put into effect.
The voter’s attention span is only so wide for so long. Attention to the lower levels offices would be lost in the sea of ads, signs, media coverage for POTUS and to a lesser degree Congress. There is only so much air time and ink to go around. Most people would not vote the lower offices or not even have a clue on the candidates and the issues involved.
Most people don’t even know who their Mayor is, why SHOULD they be deciding who wins? If you are interested enough to vote, you must be paying some attention. If you don’t give a damn enough to vote, you must not be TOO unhappy.
DeAndrea baby, after Benji did you wrong by giving the soul pole to some white Florida stripper skank, you deserve to get even.
Come see me baby, I’ll be the other white meat and give you a good porking.
Maybe the young fella can open a whorehouse
By all accounts he knows a helluva lot about fucking
Based on his picture he appears to be healthy, robust and has nice hands
If he runs into trouble hiring a few girls to do the heavy lifting. he could always
work his clients by hand until his place is fully staffed
Wow, we haven’t been able to pick on Lil’Stevie T-Bone Bennjammin in a long time. I’ll repeat what I said the last time we talked about his crimes, “…when will we see some stainless steel bracelets…” on our favorite
thugmayor.Orange is the new black, and zip ties are the new stainless steel bracelets.
You mean they’re going to paint him!?!
Blaze Orange but only for deer season.
Best I can do on short notice: http://postimg.org/image/wg55i2d7x/
+10
“…we pulled our business out of Columbia, S.C. in search of a safer, more economically friendly climate…”
And you went all the way to Irmo?!?
Of course, Irmo is a looooooooong way from Cola in many respects.
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You know, of course, you are just annoying people. No one reads your SPAM. As soon as we recognize it for what it is we skip over it! Why don’t you PAY for advertising like a LEGITIMATE business?
Sure, Columbia is a pit, but Irmo is a suburban hellhole. Why do you think Irmo is markedly different than Columbia?
Well, Irmo has one letter in their name that Columbia doesn’t have…
People from Columbia are “ians”, people from Irmo are “eese”
Most Columbians have a 292XX zip, Irmeese have a 290XX zip.
Irmo is the only place I know of where an Adli and a BiLo are in the city (the narrowest strip of a town, basically St Andrews Road, ever imagined) and the shopping center next door isn’t.
I always call them Irmites, kind like Termites.
…or “Irmoans.” Like “Samoans…”
I hear you on the suburb thing – I certainly wasn’t saying that it’s Nirvana over there! I was primarily referring to the basic safety issues, e.g. violent crime rate, gang activity, etc. HUGE difference, that. Same with Lexington, Lake Murray communities, etc. Not Heaven, but your odds of being gunned down on a street corner are pretty damn slim…
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Goddamn! Thanks for that “White Privilege” guys. Ihad a point but damn, I drank it away. Whoo Sanders!!!
Very TYPICAL: Since it was NOT MENTIONED by FITSNews, I think we can EASILY guess which political party FITSNews is protecting.
This is actually FITSNews at its best. It’s REAL scandal that legitimate media will be very slow to touch. But you compromise yourself – and align yourself with them – running interference for the most-corrupt, heartless and greedy version of a political party since the Khmer Rouge.
FITS always run from who and what he is, when it manifests.
Benjamin may be a Democrat, but he currently holds a non-partisan office. All City of Columbia offices are non-partisan officially.
Democrats are such a fucking disgrace, no wonder he runs from who, and what he is, when it manifests.
But he is more Fucking Democrat than Hillary. Just look at his failure rate and the level of corruption. That tells it all.
Be that as it may, he doesn’t currently hold an office that has a party label attached to it. If this was last year or 2008 you could state that he was managing Obama’s campaign in SC and that would then need a party label. Steven Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia and Prominent Member of the Democrat Party of SC is that the appropriate title in your book. The AP Style guide doesn’t agree with that title? T-Bone Benji is the worst mayor of Columbia since whoever surrendered to Sherman, and the article isn’t kind. Party doesn’t need to be brought in to everything.
It sucks to do business with the City of Columbia. They don’t return calls or answer letters. They look at you with blank stares when you ask them a question. There is a rule (probably made up on the spot) that keeps them for doing anything.
They are the personification of a slow, stupid government enterprise.
What is your skin color? What is your sexual preference (hetero or homosexual?) and are you a legal citizen, and do you in any way present yourself as a Christian?
That said: I could probably have you a City of Columbia contract in 5 minutes if you are willing to lie.
Cola may be *particularly* slow and stupid, but is there a fast, smart government enterprise somewhere?
“It sucks to do business with the City of Columbia. ”
Interaction with gov’t entities is never “doing business”.
Business suggests some element of voluntary transaction. Interaction with gov’t is almost always some form of extortion.
When you are dealing with government, there is never any element of voluntary participation on your part.(if you choose not to deal with them, it ends up with fines, and/or jail, and if you resist enough death). Ultimately, gov’t dictates the terms of any interaction whether you like it or not.
When you deal with gov’t you are at best a groveler, subject to the whims of the particular bureaucrat you are dealing with.
You can bitch to gov’t about the fact you pay their salary(which most will punish you for saying), etc., but at the end of the day the force of gov’t is behind them and it’s their way- you are completely subject to them/their whims.
You might now and then get an elected official to move outside their personal desires…but they don’t really control the bureaucratic machinery that does the dirty work and have little power to help in many cases.
Even if you hire an attorney, rarely will you come out on top and even then it will cost you a lot of dough before you ever get a return should you be lucky enough to win.
Even worse, a “win”, after years of time & money results in the taxpayer shelling out your award and said bureaucrat rarely getting fired, punished etc.
This is the way so called “Leadership” in America has devolved.We incarcerate those who do a whole lot less and build these Prima Donna’s up beyond the reach of the laws they enact. Get rid of all the Bums! We need to treat them like the Black Lives Matter crews and put a target on their backs! We have become a Vermin infested nation!
It’s pretty much Democrats. When a Republican is busted, guilty or not, he’s usually gone.
Democrats can do just about anything they want, and get away with it. Look at Hillary and Obama.
And Jean Hoefer Toal.
“When a Republican is busted, guilty or not, he’s usually gone.”
What a lie….Tray Radal…Michael Grimm – former FBI agent…Larry Craig…Mark Sanford and, dozens in between holding on to that government job as long as they can.
Aaron Schock left fast after his travel falsifications but is fighting providing records from his government owned and operated computers tooth and nail.
I have no idea who those people are, you fucking idiot. You’re likely calling a dogcatcher a Republican, just to feed your hate and delusion. These people are high profile getting away with crimes as Democrats.
And Larry Craig was busted, you lying, foolish bastard. How the fick do you think we know about his allegedly “talking” to a homosexual?
Democrats a some stupid motherfuckers. You prove that.
If you don’t know who they are, I guess that shows how uninformed you are. I guess it is you that is stupid.
As for Larry Craig, he plead guilty to a lesser charge and is now a lobbyist ( no doubt highly paid).
On August 27, 2007, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call revealed that Craig had been arrested for lewd conduct in the men’s restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on June 11, 2007, and entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct on August 8, 2007.[7] Despite firmly stating that he was not and never had been gay, Craig announced his intention to resign from the Senate at a news conference on September 1, 2007, but later decided to finish the remainder of his term.
BTW, have you ever heard of David Vitter?
In early July 2007, Vitter’s phone number was included in a published list of phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates, a company owned and run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, also known as the “D.C. Madam”, convicted by the U.S. government for running a prostitution service. Hustler identified the phone number and contacted Vitter’s office to ask about his connection to Palfrey.[20][21] The following day, Vitter issued a written statement in which he took responsibility for his “sin” and asked for forgiveness.[22] On July 16, 2007, after a week of self-imposed seclusion, Vitter emerged and called a news conference. Standing next to his wife, Vitter asked the public for forgiveness. Following Vitter’s remarks, Wendy Vitter, his wife, spoke, but both refused to answer any questions.[23][24][25]
While the Louisiana state Republican Party offered guarded support,[26] national Republicans offered forgiveness.[27] The Nation predicted that the Republican Party would be in a “forgiving mood”, pointing out if Vitter did step down, then Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, would likely appoint a Democrat to take Vitter’s place until a special election took place, thus increasing Democratic control over the Senate.[28][29][30]
Liberals renewed calls for Vitter’s resignation during a sexting scandal involving U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner in June 2011.[31]
Why was his brother-in-law murdered, and why was it swept under the rug?
Will he be indicted before or after the Myrtle Beach Mafia?
Seeing is believing, and no I am not defending him if he did indeed break the law.
I always say what goes around comes around, but say this guy gets what is coming to him, what do you think the constitutes will replace him with? Nothing will change if the voters aren’t any better.
Wonder if his wife will let the kids visit him in prison?
Dats rayciss.
When he does the perp walk, I am gonna be there! He is and has always been a corrupt sack of shit!
I do not believe he will leave voluntarily; he will have to hog-tied & dragged from his office.
Yo…’Bama…this hyars Ben, bro, and tell me agin whut the plan
be ‘cuz the case ‘gainst me done hardened?
Hey—Ben—didn’t I have Reggie hide evidence so Diamond Jim
could skate?…the plan felon bro be…a pardon !!!
Whatever happened with the Cola PD running a whore enterprise on the Sheraton rooftop? Bet Brotha Benji had his finger in that one two! I live in Charlotte and left that Cola shithole. We busted brotha Patrick Cannon (they say he and Tbone were tight, imagine that) and that fucking thug is in prison now.
Beg your pardon, are you asking whether Brotha Benji had his finger in his whore’s number one, number two or both number one and number two at the same time
Because if he was bowling ball his whores that would be another story
I hope he, Tony and Patrick Cannon get ass raped daily with barbed wire wrapped around it!
Have you been to Irmo lately? It’s the prototypical 1980s – 1990s suburb that is imploding now that the kids are grown.