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by WILL FOLKS
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Over the past decade-and-a-half, fourteen South Carolina sheriffs have faced criminal charges – i.e. more than thirty percent of all independently elected sheriffs in the state.
The latest and greatest of those falls from grace? The spectacular implosion of former Spartanburg County sheriff Chuck Wright. This week, our lead investigative reporter Andy Fancher dove deep into the backstory behind Wright’s calamitous collapse – detailing the origins of the criminal investigations befalling him, the bizarre addictions he battled (including one to the popular Candy Crush Saga game) and the alleged corruption yet to be unearthed.
In our next segment, research director Jenn Wood and I dove into the latest developments in the saga of former South Carolina state representative Robert John “RJ” May III – who is representing himself in federal court as he stares down ten counts of distributing child sex abuse material (CSAM). May filed several hand-written motions this week – and prosecutors submitted one of their own – in an effort to define the scope of his upcoming trial, currently scheduled for next month in Columbia, S.C.
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May is also asking for a change of venue, arguing the deluge of publicity following his arrest has deprived him of the right to a fair trial in the Palmetto State.
In yet another high-profile CSAM investigation, FITSNews exclusively reported this week on the arrest of Charleston County magistrate James B. “Skip” Gosnell – who has since been charged with possessing similarly heinous and graphic files. Dylan Nolan and I discussed Gosnell’s case as well as the latest shocking developments at the S.C. Election Commission (SCVotes.gov) – which fired its executive director this week shortly before we reported on him being the subject of a second S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigation.
As always, our sincerest thanks to everyone who watched this week’s program. And please remember – your support drives absolutely everything we do at FITSNews. The lights, the cameras, the accountability … all of it is a direct result of your subscriptions. So, if you value the sort of independent, unapologetic coverage we provide – please help us out and consider subscribing today!
Oh, and if you are already a subscriber, please consider gifting a subscription to a spouse, family member, friend or co-worker. Again, your support makes our entire enterprise possible…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
Great report on Wright, May & Gosnell. Andy, That is a long slow road in investigating Wright, I’m sure there were a lot of rabbit trails to this. The digital evidence on May becomes irrefutable when forensic experts connect the dots. ( May folds, bad hand to play) Dylan, that type of investigation (Gosnell) will surely effect your psyche on the depravity that can be inflicted by the human kind. Reading the graphic details would cause one to be taken aback. The Detectives/ investigators would surely be effected by this one also. NONE of them will be in GenPop. Single cell only.