Is the worst over for Danny Frazier, where it all began?

Former Lexington Councilman Danny Frazier was at the CENTER of all the talk and speculation, in Aug. 2012. 

A frenzy ensued after WIS-TV reporter Jody Barr obtained audio tapes of Frazier explaining how to set-up a video gaming operation.  Barr was tantalized with a chance to get the tapes, and finally got a call for a Sunday morning meeting for the hand-off. Barr's follow-up was courageous and made a splash of gigantic proportions. 

The tapes were juicy,  not only because Frazier was a Town of Lexington Councilman at the time, but because of some of the details Frazier offered - the personal nature in Frazier's conversations - and the connections Frazier had.

Frazier mentioned several highly placed elected officials. He also talked about the personal relationship with his ex-wife. 

At one point, Frazier opined that you cannot have video gaming in the rich neighborhoods, but the poor will spend lavishly playing the games. 

Frazier was believable, in no small part, because of his position. Frazier also had a part-time job with Metts at the LCSD and a part-time gig with the City of West Columbia, where he once worked as a police officer. Each paid Frazier $15,000 a year for community relations and consulting work.

The names that could be dropped, because of Frazier's office, rolled off tongues from Pelion to Pontiac. And the claims, and the people associated, bordered from the obvious to the outrageous, outlandish and bizarre.

The confrontation between council, Frazier and Jody Barr - with the admonishment of Frazier by the townspeople - asking Frazier to resign - on Aug. 17, 2012, was high drama.

Is the worst over for Frazier? 

Now, with the first shoe of indictment falling, the mention of video gaming is scant, and the consequences for Frazier look minimal. He is being allowed to continue building a new home on Lake Murray.

Other than legal fees and a fine, is the worst over for Frazier? 

It's easy to speculate that he has fully cooperated, and we know the extent of his punishment.

But what has happened to others?

In the aftermath: Lexington Mayor Randy Halfacre, and one-time Frazier friend, is no longer in elected office, defeated twice since the Frazier tapes were released. Sen. Jake Knotts, a Metts confidant, lost his 2012 bid for re-election.

Metts returned a lot of campaign contributions from gambling interests and many said the cloud has been hanging over the LCSD since the Frazier tapes became public. Knotts, who also took money legally, said he'd use some of the contributions from pro-gambling advocates for donations to his church. Bad money to do good.

The MVP of it all

The tapes were so hot, a leftist weekly newspaper in Columbia, and their highly lauded reporter balked at the tapes. Speculation is that Frazier implicated one of the state's top Democrats, so the reporter, who also writes for the radically liberal Huffington Post, was reluctant to go after one of his own.