Last week was a bad week for Columbia Mayor Steven Benjamin.
Benjamin who may be the most-powerful Democrat in South Carolina , has not yet been charged, but the smoke gets thicker, about every other day, it seems.
In testimony in a federal trial, a former S.C. State University trustee and former business partner of Benjamin's said he and Benjamin (both married) partied at a strip club and later took two of the dancers back to their hotel room for the evening. Benjamin was on a trip to Florida regarding public investments.
Later in the week, a witness said Benjamin received $50,000 from people accused of public corruption to buy Benjamin out of a dubious real estate deal. Also: the first indictment was handed down in the “Gambling Ring” investigation. The secretly recorded conversations that triggered the investigation contained Benjamin's name. And the very powerful Lexington County Sheriff, Jimmy Metts, was indicted. But Metts claimed to be a Republican. That may make a difference.
Benjamin began his first term as mayor, five years ago, under a cloud when he was involved in an early morning accident that seriously injured a woman. Questions around that accident, involved procedures by law enforcement investigators. But Benjamin was able to weather the storm, where a candidate from another party, likely would have been jettisoned.
Benjamin was re-elected, as it is hard for a democrat to “scandal” himself out of favor with democrat voters, who seem to be driven by largess, more than integrity or character.
But US Rep. Charlie Rangel, of New York (busted as a tax cheat) is in primary trouble. Is it possible that Benjamin could face political competition? No, not likely. His voters probably don’t care what he does, as an ethics issue.
But if a federal indictment is issued, love from the voters is meaningless.
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