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an ex South Carolina The sheriff is expected to plead guilty Thursday to federal charges that he stole from his force’s charity fund and took pain medication that was supposed to be destroyed as part of a pill take-back program.
Former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors last month on charges of conspiracy to commit theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with programs receiving federal funds and obtaining a controlled substance through misrepresentation. He is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday morning Anderson,
Wright will be at least the 12th sheriff in South Carolina to be indicted or convicted of on-duty crimes in the past 15 years, which include misconduct ranging from extorting drug dealers to making inmates work in their homes to hiring a woman and then pressuring her to have sex.
Sheriffs run law enforcement organizations in the state’s 46 counties. South Carolina law gives elected officials wide latitude over how their money is spent, what crimes their agencies focus on preventing and who is hired and who is fired. They also provide little oversight beyond a vote of the people of each county every four years.
Other than abuses of power, there is little in common among the convicted sheriffs. He has been in small rural agencies and large urban agencies. There was a scheme to make false police reports to help clients of a friend’s credit repair business. A sheriff took bribes to save a restaurant owner’s employees from being deported. One hid an illegal arrest. And another punched a woman in the face and stole her cellphone.
In Wright’s case, the former sheriff plundered funds set up to help deputies experiencing financial difficulties, including once saying he needed cash to dispatch an officer. Washington To honor a deputy killed in the line of duty. Federal prosecutors said the money instead went into his own pockets.
Most of Wright’s crimes stemmed from his addiction to painkillers. According to court records, in addition to the drugs taken from the pill take-back program, Wright also received a blank check from the philanthropy fund and used it to pay for oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, writing it out to his dealer.
Wright also faces more than 60 charges of ethics violations for using his county-issued credit card for personal expenses. In total, there was more than $50,000 in disputed expenses, including more than $1300 she allegedly spent. AppleAccording to court records, he paid the App Store and about $1,600 for Sirius/XM Radio.
Wright agreed to plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit theft, wire fraud conspiracy and obtaining a controlled substance through misrepresentation related to programs receiving federal funds. He is scheduled to appear in court in Anderson Thursday morning.
The combined maximum sentence for all three cases is about 30 years, although Wright will likely receive a much lighter sentence. He also must pay at least $440,000 in restitution. The date of sentencing has not been decided.