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A scheduled ethics hearing against former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright was postponed this week after his attorney successfully sought a continuance. The filing also stated that Wright’s federal case is expected to conclude by April of this year.
Wright was originally ordered to appear before the South Carolina State Ethics Commission (SCSEC) on February 19 regarding 65 ethics charges. Two of those charges stemmed from the hiring of his son as a deputy, while the remaining 63 related to Wright’s alleged misuse of a county-funded credit card.
Records provided to FITSNews confirm that Wright’s attorney in the state ethics matter, Stephen L. Denton, sought the delay. Denton told the commission he wanted federal probation officials to complete the pre-sentence investigation that will be used at Wright’s federal sentencing.
In the same request, Denton – a former sheriff’s office captain under Wright – wrote that he believes “the federal sentencing matter” will be concluded by April.
The ethics commission granted the motion and rescheduled Wright’s hearing for June 18, 2026.
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FUDDRUCKERS AND CIGARETTES…
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According to the ethics charges filed last year, Wright spent more than $17,000 on personal items during his final four years in office, including cellphone games, cigarettes, ammunition, steakhouse dinners, antidiarrheal medication and at-home drug tests.
Specific purchases cited by the commission included more than $5,000 spent on food alone, including nearly $900 at Fuddruckers, $345 at Chick-fil-A, $281 at Super King Buffet, $268 at McDonald’s, $311 at Apollo’s House of Pizza, $69 on doughnuts and $52 on hot dogs.
During that same period, the commission alleged Wright spent nearly $1,600 for a SiriusXM subscription, more than $1,300 in cellphone game charges and nearly $1,000 for car washes for specially outfitted department vehicles reserved exclusively for his use.
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RELATED | CHUCK WRIGHT TO APPEAR ON 65 ETHICS VIOLATIONS
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In total, the commission alleged Wright spent $17,140.57 in public funds on personal purchases, representing nearly 35 percent of a starting deputy’s annual salary.
The commission’s complaint also includes two nepotism charges tied to Wright’s hiring of his son, Andy Wright. Sources within law enforcement allege the former sheriff eliminated a full-time deputy position to create the department’s only part-time deputy slot for his son.
Andy Wright’s employment ended shortly after his father resigned from office in May 2025.
While the ethics charges are civil, each count carries a maximum $2,000 fine, meaning the disgraced former sheriff could face up to $130,000 in penalties. That outcome, however, is unlikely.
In his request for a continuance, Denton wrote, “frankly I believe Mr. Wright will enter into a consent order with your commission.”
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THE UNFINISHED RECORD…
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In October 2025, Wright pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation and conspiracy to commit theft from programs receiving federal funds.
The charges were brought by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who have consistently declined, along with other federal authorities, to disclose when their investigation into Wright’s department began.
The unraveling, however, was anything but orderly.
FITSNews broke nearly every major development as it unfolded, beginning with Wright’s abrupt leave of absence on April Fools’ Day 2025 to address a spiraling pill dependency. His departure came as federal subpoenas rained down on members of his own department.
For more than six weeks thereafter, speculation swirled over the whereabouts of a sitting sheriff battling addiction while under federal investigation. He eventually resurfaced, badge and gun in tow… on a church livestream.
It was not until his six-figure salary was threatened that Wright formally returned to work, only to resign within days, citing a “recent health diagnosis.”
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RELATED | CHUCK WRIGHT LIED TO FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, SOURCES SAY
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It would take five more months of carp fishing, Mountain Dew drinking and a heart attack — first reported by FITSNews — before Wright stood in federal court and admitted he had been “treated for an opioid addiction.”
By then, FITSNews had published multiple firsthand accounts detailing his reliance on illegal painkillers, including oxycodone and hydrocodone. Wright ultimately pleaded guilty to what federal prosecutors were prepared to prove in court: that he stole 147 prescription painkillers in 2023.
He further admitted to diverting $89,000 in cash from the sheriff’s office benevolence fund, a nonprofit created to assist deputies in times of hardship. Instead, the cash was siphoned for personal use alongside former department chaplain turned federal codefendant Amos Durham.
Also charged in the federal case was Lawson “L.B.” Watson, one of Wright’s blood relatives described by prosecutors as a “no-show” deputy. Watson admitted to fraudulently receiving more than $200,000 in salary while simultaneously operating a construction business.
According to a federal filing submitted after the guilty pleas, as all three men await sentencing, the government has produced more than 45,000 pages of discovery to federal probation officials and defense attorneys.
Despite that volume of discovery, Wright’s alleged ties to an illegal gambling operation in Spartanburg County remain unaddressed by law enforcement. Despite repeated firsthand testimonies published by FITSNews, we continue to pursue this thread independently.
Write to Andrew Fancher at andy@fitsnews.com.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy Award–winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. He joined FITSNews in 2023 after leaving an NBC affiliate, where he served as on-air talent. His reporting focuses on public corruption in South Carolina, with an emphasis on law enforcement misconduct and abuse of power.
1 comment
No worries, I’m sure he will write a flattering letter to Trump and be pardoned.