Spokesperson: 4 subpoenas issued; County cooperating
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A South Carolina grand jury has issued a series of subpoenas requesting that Beaufort County supply financial records related to possible contract, purchasing and procurement misconduct.
Beaufort County spokesperson Hannah Nichols confirmed that the county had received four state grand jury subpoenas and “the county is cooperating fully and will comply with the subpoenas to provide all requested documentation.”
The subpoenas include demands for documentation related to purchasing cards related to expense of county employees, spending under former Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway and a contract for construction work at a Port Royal inclusive playground, according to reporting by The Island Packet.
An audit conducted by Greenville-based law firm Haynesworth Sinkler Boyd after County Council terminated Greenway with cause in July 2023 found that there were “flagrant violations” of the county’s procurement code.
The results of this audit were delivered in early Spring 2024 but despite requests from law enforcement, the news media and members of the public, the results were only made available to law enforcement on Monday, Aug. 26.
As for the Port Royal park, known as Bruce Edgerly Park, the equipment was originally purchased and installed without council’s approval, which violated Beaufort County’s procurement code.
Additionally, the construction of the bathrooms at the park cost the county almost $350,000 and were built by Nix Construction, who was the sole bidder for the for the project, which brings the total cost of the project to just over $1 million dollars.
Duffie Stone, the 14th Circuit Solicitor, sent a letter to Attorney General Alan Wilson in November 2023 asking him to impanel a state grand jury for the investigation into Greenway’s alleged misconduct.
In an interview with The Island News, Stone said that he asked Wilson to impanel a state grand jury after a Beaufort County employee refused to talk to an agent with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) during their investigation after the employee had consulted with an attorney who works for Beaufort County.
Stone said that a grand jury has authorities that he does not, such as summary investigation, compelling testimony and subpoenaing documents related to the case, which is something that he hopes gets changed soon in the S.C. General Assembly.
“The local solicitors need to have the ability, in the area of public corruption, to compel testimony and subpoena documents,” Stone said. “That’s something that is necessary. It’s unfortunate that it’s necessary.”
Beaufort County Council members voted to waive their attorney client privilege and release the report to law enforcement as of Aug. 26 to review.
Stone said that it was “shocking” to him that the County Council had to vote and debate whether to cooperate with an ongoing investigation.
Both Stone and Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner had received a copy of the report as of the end of last week.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
