Corruption trial set for three former Union County officials

By Meg Kinnard - The Associated Press

SPARTANBURG -- Three former officials in a South Carolina county already plagued by scandal will stand trial in February, a federal judged ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Henry F. Floyd also said during a brief hearing in Spartanburg that he will consider pretrial motions in the cases in January. Jury selection has been set for Feb. 3.

Former Union County supervisor Donald Betenbaugh and tax assessor Willie E. Randall Jr., are facing charges ranging from accepting $50,000 in kickbacks to allowing Randall's office to be used to store cocaine.

Both men have pleaded not guilty and are free on bond. Gov. Mark Sanford suspended Betenbaugh after his indictment.

Former Sheriff Howard Wells also was in court Thursday for a pretrial conference on witness tampering charges. Prosecutors say Wells loaned money to an unnamed person in exchange for interest he didn't report as taxable income, then lied to federal agents about the loan.

Wells was propelled into the national spotlight in 1994, during the investigation into two Union County children reported missing by their mother. Susan Smith initially told investigators her young sons had been taken in a carjacking, tearfully pleading on television for their return. But nine days later, Smith confessed to Wells she had strapped her children into their car seats and let the car roll into a lake, with them inside.

Wells has pleaded not guilty, as has another man charged in connection with two former town officials already serving federal prison sentences. Willard Farr, has been charged with conspiracy to commit extortion, aiding and abetting former Union Mayor Bruce Morgan and former zoning administrator Jeffrey Lawson to extort money from contractors seeking to do business with the city.

Morgan and Lawson have pleaded guilty to seeking bribes and plotting to take kickbacks. They were sentenced earlier this year.

Union's troubles also extend to the state court level, where former Union County court clerk Brad Morris has been charged with embezzling $200,000 in public funds.

Morris, who was officially charged Wednesday, resigned last month amid an audit into accounts he oversees. Kevin Brackett, thecircuit's lead prosecutor, said he became concerned about the accounts after parents began complaining that child support payment checks written from the accounts had bounced.